PA Unemployment Rate at 5.2% in February

News provided by

Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry

Mar 20, 2015, 09:37 ET

HARRISBURG, Pa., March 20, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry released its employment situation report for February 2015.

Pennsylvania's unemployment rate increased by one-tenth of a percentage point in February to 5.2 percent. Pennsylvania's rate was three-tenths of a percentage point below the U.S. rate of 5.5 percent, which was down two-tenths from January. The commonwealth's rate was down by 1.0 percentage points from February 2014 while the national rate declined by 1.2 points over the year.

Pennsylvania's civilian labor force increased by 7,000 in February to 6,365,000. Residential employment was up 2,000 while unemployment was up 6,000.

Total nonfarm jobs were up 13,300 in February to a record high of 5,829,200. The gain was concentrated in the private sector, which added 15,700 jobs while government declined by 2,400. The largest increase was in education & health services, up 6,000, while construction showed the biggest decline, down 2,500.

Over the year, total nonfarm jobs in Pennsylvania were up 73,100 (+1.3%). The growth was almost entirely within private industries, with the largest gains in trade, transportation & utilities, education & health services and professional & business services. Only two of the eleven supersectors declined from a year ago – information and government.

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		Change from
	February	January	February	January 2015		February 2014
	2015	2015	2014	volume	percent	volume	percent
PA
Civilian Labor Force	6,372	6,365	6,385	7	0.1%	-13	-0.2%
Employment	6,044	6,042	5,988	2	0.0%	56	0.9%
Unemployment	329	323	398	6	1.9%	-69	-17.3%
Rate	5.2	5.1	6.2	0.1	----	-1.0	----

U.S.
Civilian Labor Force	157,002	157,180	155,688	-178	-0.1%	1,314	0.8%
Employment	148,297	148,201	145,301	96	0.1%	2,996	2.1%
Unemployment	8,705	8,979	10,387	-274	-3.1%	-1,682	-16.2%
Rate	5.5	5.7	6.7	-0.2	----	-1.2	----

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

				Change from		Change from
	February	January	February	January 2015		February 2014
	2015	2015	2014	volume	percent	volume	percent

Total Nonfarm Jobs	5,829.2	5,815.9	5,756.1	13.3	0.2%	73.1	1.3%

Goods Producing Industries	838.8	841.7	828.4	-2.9	-0.3%	10.4	1.3%
Mining & Logging	38.2	38.6	36.4	-0.4	-1.0%	1.8	4.9%
Construction	231.2	233.7	225.4	-2.5	-1.1%	5.8	2.6%
Manufacturing	569.4	569.4	566.6	0.0	0.0%	2.8	0.5%

Service Providing Industries	4,990.4	4,974.2	4,927.7	16.2	0.3%	62.7	1.3%
Trade, Transportation & Utilities	1,121.5	1,118.5	1,100.1	3.0	0.3%	21.4	1.9%
Information	84.2	83.9	85.9	0.3	0.4%	-1.7	-2.0%
Financial Activities	316.0	316.2	315.2	-0.2	-0.1%	0.8	0.3%
Professional & Business Services	766.6	763.3	752.7	3.3	0.4%	13.9	1.8%
Education & Health Services	1,189.7	1,183.7	1,170.9	6.0	0.5%	18.8	1.6%
Leisure & Hospitality	549.4	545.9	536.1	3.5	0.6%	13.3	2.5%
Other Services	258.5	255.8	252.9	2.7	1.1%	5.6	2.2%
Government	704.5	706.9	713.9	-2.4	-0.3%	-9.4	-1.3%