Pa. jobless rate rises to 5 percent in May

More people looking for work: state data

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pennsylvania’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased one-tenth of a percent to 5 percent in May, as more people joined the labor force to look for jobs, according to the state Department of Labor and Industry’s monthly data released Friday.

Over the past 12 months, joblessness in the state has fallen. The unemployment rate fell from 5.5 percent in May 2016, the report showed, as the number of people counted as unemployed fell by 31,000 to 323,000 last month. Meanwhile, the count of employed people increased by 66,000 over the last year.

The government counts people as part of the labor force when they take specific actions to look for a job.

Meanwhile, annual job growth in May stood at nearly 1 percent.

Employers across the state opened up about 54,000 more jobs since May 2016. During the month, however, the state lost about 4,000 jobs, according to the report.

Comparing industries over the year, seven of the 11 industry groups saw growth in available jobs. Education and health services led the way by adding 32,700 payroll positions, a 2.7 percent job increase since May 2016. Leisure and hospitality added 14,200 jobs, or 2.6 percent of its workforce, and professional and business services added 14,400 positions, for 1.8 percent growth.

Mining and logging, which has seen annual job cuts as high as 20 percent, showed a narrowing job loss of 6 percent cut — from nearly 25,100 to 23,600 positions. Manufacturing cut 11,500 jobs, or about 2 percent.

The rising unemployment rate over the last two months may be reversing the trend seen throughout much of this year. The state’s jobless rate fell five consecutive months after reaching a high of 5.8 percent in October 2016. Pennsylvanians either found jobs or gave up looking for work.

The statewide rate compares with a falling national unemployment rate of 4.3 percent in May, a 16-year low.

It’s unclear whether the Pennsylvania figures over the last two months will throw off the longer-term trend. Economists typically measure workforce changes over several months at a time.

The latest data are tentative and will be revised for next month’s statewide report.