Pa. unemployment continues decline in May, falls to 4.5%

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate fell to 4.5 percent in May, adding to the steady decline in the rate even as people continue to drop out of the workforce.

May’s rate, reported by the state Department of Labor and Industry, decreased two-tenths of a percentage point from the 4.7 percent rate reported in April.

Over the past 12 months, unemployment in Pennsylvania has fallen a total of four-tenths of one percent, from 4.9 percent in May 2017.

The improvements in the unemployment rate were once again driven primarily by a decrease in the size of the overall labor force, which shrank by 14,000 since April. That reflects a combination of 1,000 new jobs being added by employers in the state and 15,000 fewer people counted as workers.

The government includes people in the count if they are employed or have taken specific actions in the past four weeks to look for a job.

In April, both employment and unemployment decreased.

The Pennsylvania unemployment rate remains well above the national rate of 3.8 percent for May.

The national rate decreased by one-tenth of one percentage point from April, and a half of one percentage point from May 2017.

Seven of the 11 industry sectors tracked by the Department of Labor and Industry saw an increase in jobs, with construction — which added 1,900 jobs — at the head of the pack.

All four sectors that shrank were in the services industry, including the largest absolute decline of 1,900 jobs seen in education and health services.

The dip in the education and health services sector in May contrasts with an annual growth of 2.6 percent, which has added a net 31,700 jobs since May 2017.

Overall, the number of total nonfarm jobs in Pennsylvania was up 1.3 percent from one year ago.

The Department of Labor and Industry is scheduled to release Pittsburgh-area job statistics for May on June 26.