County's jobless rate falls in July to 4.3 percent

Aug. 31—Unemployment in Crawford County dipped to 4.3 percent in July, down from 4.7 percent in June — making it one of the lowest rates the county has seen since prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The last time the county's jobless rate was at 4.3 percent was in November 2018.

The county's lowest rate recorded was 3.9 percent in April 2019 — the first time it was below 4 percent since the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry adopted its current unemployment calculation method in January 1976.

Crawford County's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 4.3 percent in July compares to 6.6 percent recorded in July 2021, Lauren Riegel, a labor analyst with the department, said Tuesday.

The 4.3 percent for July put Crawford in a three-way tie with Blair and Warren counties for 29th lowest rate out of Pennsylvania's 67 counties.

While the county's unemployment rate went down in July, so, too, did the size of its total labor force. (A county's total labor force is the number of people who live in a county and are in the workforce either employed or unemployed but may work in another county.)

Crawford County's total labor force was 37,000 in July with 35,400 employed and 1,600 unemployed.

In June, the total labor force was higher at 37,300 with 35,600 employed and 1,800 unemployed (the numbers don't total correctly due to rounding).

"It's hard to say what happened," Riegel said of the drop in the total labor force numbers in July. Riegel said there was no single factor that could be attributed to it, noting employers of all types both here and across Pennsylvania are looking for workers.

While the number of overall number of jobs based within the county fell by 500 in July, that was attributed to the closeout of the academic year for education-related jobs across several sectors, Riegel said.

The total number of jobs based in Crawford County was 29,300 in July, down 500 from 29,800 in June.

There were 200-job drops each in trade, transportation and utilities; education and health services; and local government.

Trade, transportation and utilities had 4,300 jobs in July, down from 4,500 in June.

"That's where the school bus companies and contractors are," Riegel said.

Education and health services had 6,500 jobs in July, down from 6,700 in June.

"That's the sector where the private schools and colleges are," she said.

Local government had 2,400 jobs in July, down from 2,600 in June, which include public education jobs.

One sector in the county see an increase in positions.

Mining, logging and construction added 100 jobs in July, rising to 1,200 for the month, up from 1,100 in June.

The number of manufacturing jobs within the county held steady at 7,100 in July, unchanged from June.

Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates for the four counties adjoining Crawford all went down in July.

The rates for the other counties, listed July, then June, were: Erie, 5.0 percent, 5.2 percent; Mercer, 4.9, 5.1; Venango, 4.7, 5.1; and Warren, 4.3, 4.4.

Statewide, Pennsylvania's unemployment rate fell to 4.3 percent in July, down from 4.5 percent in June. The national unemployment rate was 3.5 percent in July, down from 3.6 in June.

Keith Gushard can be reached at (814) 724-6370 or by email at .