Corrected: PA Unemployment Rate 4.6% in February

***CORRECTION: Current Labor Force Statistics chart has been revised to accurately reflect resident employment increase.***

News provided by

Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry

Mar 18, 2016, 12:28 ET

HARRISBURG, Pa., March 18, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry released its employment situation report for February 2016.

Pennsylvania's unemployment rate was unchanged from January at 4.6 percent, the lowest rate since September 2007. Pennsylvania's rate remained below that of the United States, which was also unchanged at 4.9 percent. The commonwealth's rate was down seven-tenths of a percentage point since February 2015 while the national rate declined by six-tenths of a percentage point over the year.

Pennsylvania's civilian labor force was up 21,000 in February to 6,471,000. Resident employment rose by 17,000 while the unemployment count increased by 4,000.

Total nonfarm jobs increased 21,100 to a record high of 5,876,200 in February. The largest gain was in education & health services, which added 12,200 jobs due mostly to educational services. The largest drop was in manufacturing, which decreased following three consecutive gains.

Over the year, total nonfarm jobs in Pennsylvania were up 53,300 (+0.9%). All seven private service-providing supersectors added jobs from February 2015, while all three goods-producing supersectors declined and government was unchanged. The largest increase from last year was in education & health services (+16,400), while the largest decline was in mining & logging (-9,100).

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

MEDIA CONTACT: Sara Goulet, 717-787-7530

Editor's Note: A breakdown of Pennsylvania's employment statistics follows.

Current Labor Force Statistics
Seasonally Adjusted
(in thousands)

				Change from January 2016		Change from February 2015
	February	January	February	Change from January 2016		Change from February 2015
	2016	2016	2015	volume	percent	volume	percent
PA
Civilian Labor Force	6,471	6,450	6,417	21	0.3%	54	0.8%
Employment	6,171	6,154	6,075	17	0.3%	96	1.6%
Unemployment	300	296	341	4	1.4%	-41	-12.0%
Rate	4.6	4.6	5.3	0.0	----	-0.7	----

U.S.
Civilian Labor Force	158,890	158,335	156,878	555	0.4%	2,012	1.3%
Employment	151,074	150,544	148,231	530	0.4%	2,843	1.9%
Unemployment	7,815	7,791	8,646	24	0.3%	-831	-9.6%
Rate	4.9	4.9	5.5	0.0	----	-0.6	----

Pennsylvania Nonagricultural Wage and Salary Employment
Seasonally Adjusted
(in thousands)

				Change from January 2016		Change from February 2015
	February	January	February	Change from January 2016		Change from February 2015
	2016	2016	2015	volume	percent	volume	percent

Total Nonfarm Jobs	5,876.2	5,855.1	5,822.9	21.1	0.4%	53.3	0.9%

Goods Producing Industries	822.3	826.8	840.1	-4.5	-0.5%	-17.8	-2.1%
Mining & Logging	28.4	29.6	37.5	-1.2	-4.1%	-9.1	-24.3%
Construction	228.5	229.6	231.7	-1.1	-0.5%	-3.2	-1.4%
Manufacturing	565.4	567.6	570.9	-2.2	-0.4%	-5.5	-1.0%

Service Providing Industries	5,053.9	5,028.3	4,982.8	25.6	0.5%	71.1	1.4%
Trade, Transportation & Utilities	1,132.9	1,125.9	1,116.8	7.0	0.6%	16.1	1.4%
Information	86.1	85.8	84.9	0.3	0.3%	1.2	1.4%
Financial Activities	320.5	318.5	315.8	2.0	0.6%	4.7	1.5%
Professional & Business Services	786.1	780.9	773.4	5.2	0.7%	12.7	1.6%
Education & Health Services	1,204.8	1,192.6	1,188.4	12.2	1.0%	16.4	1.4%
Leisure & Hospitality	558.0	558.6	543.0	-0.6	-0.1%	15.0	2.8%
Other Services	260.1	259.8	255.1	0.3	0.1%	5.0	2.0%
Government	705.4	706.2	705.4	-0.8	-0.1%	0.0	0.0%

For a more detailed breakdown of seasonally adjusted jobs data at the sector level, please contact the Center for Workforce Information & Analysis at 1-877-4WF-DATA, or visit www.paworkstats.pa.gov

Note: March 2016 labor force and nonfarm jobs statistics will be released April 15, 2016.

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry