Pennsylvania's unemployment rate falls to 5.4% in December

William O'Boyle, The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
·1 min read

Jan. 21—WILKES-BARRE — The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry (L&I)Friday released its preliminary employment situation report for December, showing that the Commonwealth continues to regain lost jobs as it bounces back from the pandemic.

The report also shows that Pennsylvania's unemployment rate was down three-tenths of a percentage point over the month to 5.4 percent in December.

During that same time, the U.S. rate also fell three-tenths of a percentage point to 3.9 percent.

Over the year, the commonwealth's unemployment rate was 1.7 percentage points below its December 2020 level and the national rate was down 2.8 points.

Pennsylvania's civilian labor force — the estimated number of residents working or looking for work — decreased 18,000 over the month.

Pennsylvania's total non-farm jobs were up 14,300 over the month to 5,804,600 in December.

Jobs increased in eight of the 11 industry super-sectors. Trade, transportation & utilities — which increased by 9,400 — made up the largest share of the December gain.

The next largest increase was a boost of 3,300 leisure & hospitality jobs. The largest volume drop from November was in professional & business services, down 4,100.

Over the year, total non-farm jobs were up 202,200 with gains in 10 of the 11 super-sectors. Leisure & hospitality had the largest 12-month gain, adding back 80,400 jobs. All super-sectors remained below their pre-pandemic February 2020 job levels as of December 2021.

Additional information is available on the L&I website at www.dli.pa.gov or by following us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Note: The above data are seasonally adjusted. Seasonally adjusted data provide the most valid month-to-month comparison.