Total Nonfarm Jobs Hit Record High
HARRISBURG – On Friday the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) released its employment situation report for May.
Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was unchanged over the month, remaining at the record low set in April of 3.8 percent. State records go back to 1976.
The national rate, at 3.6 percent, was also unchanged from April. The commonwealth’s unemployment rate declined by one-half of a percentage point from May of 2018 while the national rate was down two-tenths over the same period.
A survey of households found that Pennsylvania’s civilian labor force, the estimated number of residents working or looking for work, was unchanged from April at 6,471,000. Employment rose by 1,000 to a record high, while unemployment declined 1,000.
Total nonfarm jobs rose from April to a record high of 6,051,400. May was the sixth consecutive gain, as well as sixth consecutive record high for jobs.
Jobs increased over the month in five of the 11 industry supersectors. Over the year, total nonfarm jobs in Pennsylvania were up 54,900.
Additional information is available on the L&I website at www.dli.pa.gov or by following the department on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Note: The above data are seasonally adjusted. Seasonally adjusted data provide the most valid month-to-month comparison.
