PA Unemployment Rate at 5.7% in July

News provided by

Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry

Aug 15, 2014, 09:35 ET

HARRISBURG, Pa., Aug. 15, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry released its employment situation report for July 2014.

Pennsylvania's unemployment rate rose in July to 5.7 percent, up one-tenth of a percentage point from June. This was the first gain in the state unemployment rate since June 2012. The commonwealth's rate was five-tenths of a percentage point below the U.S. rate of 6.2 percent, which was also up one-tenth of a point in July. The state rate was down 1.8 percentage points from its July 2013 rate of 7.5 percent.

Pennsylvania's civilian labor force – the number of people working or looking for work – was down 32,000 in July to 6,371,000 due to a decline in resident employment (-35,000). Despite July's decline, employment has been trending upward. Pennsylvania's employment has gone up 40,000 in the past year, and is up 21,000 so far in 2014. Unemployment, up 400, increased for the first time since August 2012.

Total nonfarm jobs decreased by 700 from June to 5,793,000. This decline followed gains in the previous three months which totaled 35,800. July's drop was limited to private industry, down 3,400, as public sector jobs grew for the sixth consecutive month. The largest gain in July was in construction (+3,500), while the largest drop was in leisure & hospitality (-4,400).

Over the year, total nonfarm jobs in Pennsylvania were up 54,100 (+0.9%). The growth was almost entirely within private industries, with the largest gains in construction and trade, transportation & utilities.

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
	July	June	July	June 2014		July 2013
	2014	2014	2013	volume	percent	volume	percent
PA
Civilian Labor Force	6,371	6,403	6,457	-32	-0.5%	-86	-1.3%
Employment	6,011	6,046	5,971	-35	-0.6%	40	0.7%
Unemployment	361	357	486	4	1.1%	-125	-25.7%
Rate	5.7	5.6	7.5	0.1	----	-1.8	----

U.S.
Civilian Labor Force	156,023	155,694	155,693	329	0.2%	330	0.2%
Employment	146,352	146,221	144,285	131	0.1%	2,067	1.4%
Unemployment	9,671	9,474	11,408	197	2.1%	-1,737	-15.2%
Rate	6.2	6.1	7.3	0.1	----	-1.1	----

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

				Change from		Change from
	July	June	July	June 2014		July 2013
	2014	2014	2013	volume	percent	volume	percent

Total Nonfarm Jobs	5,793.0	5,793.7	5,738.9	-0.7	0.0%	54.1	0.9%

Goods Producing Industries	837.6	832.2	824.3	5.4	0.6%	13.3	1.6%
Mining & Logging	38.1	37.8	36.0	0.3	0.8%	2.1	5.8%
Construction	241.1	237.6	225.8	3.5	1.5%	15.3	6.8%
Manufacturing	558.4	556.8	562.5	1.6	0.3%	-4.1	-0.7%

Service Providing Industries	4,955.4	4,961.5	4,914.6	-6.1	-0.1%	40.8	0.8%
Trade, Transportation & Utilities	1,116.6	1,114.2	1,102.1	2.4	0.2%	14.5	1.3%
Information	84.4	85.4	88.2	-1.0	-1.2%	-3.8	-4.3%
Financial Activities	316.3	317.8	312.4	-1.5	-0.5%	3.9	1.2%
Professional & Business Services	757.8	759.7	752.2	-1.9	-0.3%	5.6	0.7%
Education & Health Services	1,167.6	1,166.5	1,154.4	1.1	0.1%	13.2	1.1%
Leisure & Hospitality	540.8	545.2	533.9	-4.4	-0.8%	6.9	1.3%
Other Services	254.4	257.9	251.9	-3.5	-1.4%	2.5	1.0%
Government	717.5	714.8	719.5	2.7	0.4%	-2.0	-0.3%

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: August 2014 labor force and nonfarm jobs statistics will be released September 19, 2014.

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry