Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) released its preliminary employment situation report for October 2021.
Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was down two-tenths of a percentage point over the month to 6.0 percent in October. The U.S. rate also fell two-tenths of a percentage point from its September level, down to 4.6 percent. The commonwealth’s unemployment rate was 1.0 percentage points below its October 2020 level and the national rate was down 2.3 points over the year.
Pennsylvania’s civilian labor force – the estimated number of residents working or looking for work – decreased 6,000 over the month. The unemployment count fell for the eighth consecutive month, with 12,000 fewer unemployed individuals in October.
Pennsylvania’s total nonfarm jobs increased by 19,100 over the month to 5,760,800 in October, the sixth consecutive gain. The number of jobs increased from September in seven of the 11 industry supersectors. The largest movement was an increase of 8,600 leisure & hospitality jobs. Over the year, total nonfarm jobs were up 134,700 with gains in nine of the 11 supersectors. Leisure & hospitality had the largest 12-month gain, adding back 47,300 jobs. All supersectors remained below their February 2020 job levels as of October 2021.
Note: All data are seasonally adjusted. Seasonally adjusted data provide the most valid month-to-month comparison.
Note: All data are seasonally adjusted. Seasonally adjusted data provide the most valid month-to-month comparison.
# # #
Editor’s Note: A breakdown of Pennsylvania’s employment statistics follows.
Current Labor Force Statistics
Seasonally Adjusted
(in thousands)
Change from
Change from
October
September
October
September 2021
October 2020
2021
2021
2020
volume
percent
volume
percent
PA
Civilian Labor Force
6,270
6,276
6,314
-6
-0.1%
-44
-0.7%
Employment
5,892
5,886
5,870
6
0.1%
22
0.4%
Unemployment
378
390
444
-12
-3.1%
-66
-14.9%
Rate
6.0
6.2
7.0
-0.2
—-
-1.0
—-
U.S.
Civilian Labor Force
161,458
161,354
160,718
104
0.1%
740
0.5%
Employment
154,039
153,680
149,669
359
0.2%
4,370
2.9%
Unemployment
7,419
7,674
11,049
-255
-3.3%
-3,630
-32.9%
Rate
4.6
4.8
6.9
-0.2
—-
-2.3
—-
Note: November 2021 labor force and nonfarm jobs statistics will be released on December 17, 2021.
Pennsylvania Nonagricultural Wage and Salary Employment
Seasonally Adjusted
(in thousands)
Change from
Change from
October
September
October
September 2021
October 2020
2021
2021
2020
volume
percent
volume
percent
Total Nonfarm Jobs
5,760.8
5,741.7
5,626.1
19.1
0.3%
134.7
2.4%
Goods Producing Industries
818.3
817.0
804.8
1.3
0.2%
13.5
1.7%
Mining & Logging
21.3
21.4
21.1
-0.1
-0.5%
0.2
0.9%
Construction
245.8
246.0
247.1
-0.2
-0.1%
-1.3
-0.5%
Manufacturing
551.2
549.6
536.6
1.6
0.3%
14.6
2.7%
Service Providing Industries
4,942.5
4,924.7
4,821.3
17.8
0.4%
121.2
2.5%
Trade, Transportation & Utilities
1,104.6
1,101.0
1,078.6
3.6
0.3%
26.0
2.4%
Information
85.7
85.6
81.6
0.1
0.1%
4.1
5.0%
Financial Activities
329.7
330.2
322.7
-0.5
-0.2%
7.0
2.2%
Professional & Business Services
776.9
773.9
752.2
3.0
0.4%
24.7
3.3%
Education & Health Services
1,248.6
1,244.6
1,242.2
4.0
0.3%
6.4
0.5%
Leisure & Hospitality
485.2
476.6
437.9
8.6
1.8%
47.3
10.8%
Other Services
239.1
237.2
230.0
1.9
0.8%
9.1
4.0%
Government
672.7
675.6
676.1
-2.9
-0.4%
-3.4
-0.5%
For a more detailed breakdown of seasonally adjusted jobs data at the sector level, please contact the Center for Workforce Information & Analysis at 1-877-4WF-DATA, or visit www.paworkstats.pa.gov
Note: November 2021 labor force and nonfarm jobs statistics will be released on December 17, 2021.
Never miss out on local news. Sign up below for Tri-County Insider News:
