HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 8.0 percent in February, down from a revised rate of 8.3 percent in January 2011.
February’s decline was eight-tenths of a percentage point from February 2010, the largest over-the-year decline since February 1995.
Pennsylvania’s seasonally adjusted civilian labor force – the number of people working or looking for work – was up 16,000 in February to 6,362,000. Resident employment rose by 30,000 to 5,851,000 while the number of unemployed residents fell 14,000 to 511,000, its lowest level since April 2009. Pennsylvania’s labor force was up 4,000 from its February 2010 level.
Seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs in Pennsylvania increased 23,700 from January to 5,674,100, the highest level in two years. Nine of the eleven supersectors added jobs in February, with the largest increase in Education & Health Services, which was up 11,500 to 1,156,400. For the second month in a row, all goods-producing supersectors added jobs. Mining & Logging increased for the twenty-first consecutive month, up 600 in February to 30,000, the highest level since 1990.
Pennsylvania’s job count was up 106,800 (1.9 percent) from February 2010; nationally, nonfarm jobs were up 1,269,000 (1.0 percent) from last year.
Editor’s Note: A breakdown of Pennsylvania’s employment statistics is available on the Department of Labor & Industry’s website at www.dli.state.pa.us.
