Pa. records 3rd month of record-low jobless rate
WASHINGTON — Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate remained at a record-low 3.4% in November for the third consecutive month, according to preliminary numbers released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
It was a full percentage point below the 4.4% rate recorded in November 2022 as the economy continues to recover from the economic downturn caused by the pandemic. During those 12 months, Pennsylvania added 125,800 jobs, going from 6.1 million to 6.2 million jobs. That was a 2.1% increase.
The current unemployment rate is the lowest in Pennsylvania going back to 1976, and is below the national figure of 3.7%, down from 3.9% in October..
The state benefited as supply chains were unsnarled and inflation declined, said Kirabo Jackson, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisors.
“We had a very strong economy,” Mr. Jackson said.
Some of the strongest growth was in manufacturing, which helps explain why Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was lower than the national average, he said. According to the state Department of Labor & Industry, the number of manufacturing jobs rose by 0.2% from October to November.
Manufacturing accounted for 12.7% of the gross state product last year and employed 9.5% of Pennsylvania’s nonfarm workforce, according to the National Association of Manufacturers.
The biggest gain from October to November came in education and health services, where employment rose 9.8% over a month, the state said.
Area officials have expressed concern that jobs could be lost if Nippon Steel Corp.’s purchase of Pittsburghbased U.S. Steel is allowed to proceed. President Joe Biden has asked that the deal be examined by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which is chaired by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Mr. Jackson declined to comment on the transaction.
Also on Friday, a key measure of inflation dropped by 0.1 percentage points from October to November, which was the first such decline since April 2020. Known as Personal Consumption Expenditures, the index rose 2.6% for the 12 months that ended in November, down from 2.9% during the 12-month period that ended in October.
“As we head into the holidays, prices are down from a year ago on important items including a gallon of gas, a gallon of milk, toys, appliances, electronics, car rentals, and airline fares,” he said.
What remains to be seen is if the continued low unemployment rate and the decline in inflation will begin paying political dividends for Mr. Biden. Polls show the president in a dead heat with former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, the most populous 2024 battleground state.
In a recent Muhlenberg College survey, Mr. Trump had a 51% to 36% advantage over Mr. Biden among registered Pennsylvania voters when asked which candidate was better at creating jobs, even though Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate never dipped below 4.2% during the former president’s term.
But the U.S. Treasury Department recently reported that increases in income now are outpacing increases in inflation, as the rise in prices has shrunk. The median American worker now earns enough to pay for the same goods and services as in 2019, plus has an additional $1,000 to spend.
“These sentiments improve over time,” Mr. Jackson said. “We’re seeing incomes grow faster than inflation. It takes a few months for people to feel the benefits of growing incomes.”