Pa. unemployment falls to 4.2 percent, 11-year low

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The unemployment rate in Pennsylvania fell slightly to 4.2 percent in July, hitting another 11-year low as more people left the workforce amid a tightening labor market, according to the state’s monthly jobs report released on Friday.

The state’s jobless rate fell one-tenth of a percentage point over the month and hit the lowest point since May 2007, according to the report, compiled by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry.

But the fall in unemployment continues to be driven primarily by a shrinking of the labor force —caused by worker retirements and other people giving up looking for work. Since July 2017, the state’s labor force declined by 50,000 people, the 14th consecutive month of declines, according to the report.

As the ranks of the unemployed have steadily declined to 267,000 people in July, the number of employed people also dropped.

The shrinking labor force has created a tough situation for the state’s businesses, which continue to look for workers and create jobs.

Annual job growth registered at 1.2 percent, down one-tenth of a percent from June. Pennsylvania employers added 71,900 since July 2017. Nine of the 11 major sectors measured in the jobs report registered annual increases in employment.

Hiring remained dominated by the service sector, which was responsible for more than nine in 10 jobs created in the state.

Education and health services added 30,000 jobs, for annual growth of 2.4 percent. Leisure and hospitality, which includes restaurants and hotels, added 13,700 jobs, a 2.4 percent annual growth.

Construction, which led hiring through much of this year, has cooled off. Building companies added 2,500 positions over the year for an annual job growth of 1 percent. Mining and logging, a sector that includes mostly coal mining, showed an annual increase of 1,800 jobs for a total of 28,800 jobs statewide.

The two sectors showing annual declines were information, which shed 2,000 positions, and government, which lost 81,200 jobs.

The state is scheduled to report the Pittsburgh region’s jobs and unemployment statistics for the month of July on August 28.