HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) has released its employment situation report for December of 2018.
Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was unchanged from November at 4.2 percent. The national rate rose two-tenths of a percentage point to 3.9 percent in December.
The Pennsylvania unemployment rate declined by six-tenths of a percentage point from December of 2017.
The estimated number of Pennsylvania residents working or looking for work, known as the civilian labor force, was up 21,000 over the month.
The number of employed Pennsylvanians rose by 16,000 to a record high of 6,188,000. The number of unemployed residents was up 5,000 from November, but down 36,000 from last December.
The estimated number of jobs in Pennsylvania, referred to as total nonfarm jobs, was up 13,200 from November to a record high of 6,068,400. Highlights from this month’s jobs report include:
- Total nonfarm jobs increased 11 times in 2018
- Among the 11 industry supersectors, six showed job increases from November
- The two largest supersector movements – education & health services (+8,800) and leisure & hospitality (+6,900) – both resulted in record high levels
Over the past 12 months, jobs increased 1.2 percent in the commonwealth with gains in 10 of the 11 supersectors. Education & health services had the largest volume 12-month gain. Nationally, jobs were up 1.8 percent during this timeframe.
Additional information is available on the L&I Web site at www.dli.pa.gov or by following on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
Note: The above data are seasonally adjusted. Seasonally adjusted data provide the most valid month-to-month comparison.