Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) released its employment situation report for January 2021, with a slight increase over the unemployment rate for December.
Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points over the month to 7.3 percent in January. The U.S. rate fell four-tenths of a percentage point from December to 6.3 percent. The commonwealth’s unemployment rate was 2.5 percentage points above its January 2020 level while the national rate was up 2.8 points over the year.
Pennsylvania’s civilian labor force – the estimated number of residents working or looking for work – decreased 15,000 over the month.
Pennsylvania’s total nonfarm jobs were up 35,700 over the month to 5,638,100 in January, essentially reversing December’s drop of 35,400. Jobs increased in 4 of the 11 industry supersectors with the largest volume gain in professional & business services (+12,100).
Notes: The above data are seasonally adjusted. Seasonally adjusted data provide the most valid month-to-month comparison.
Because the data included in each month’s press release (primarily civilian labor force and nonfarm jobs data) are sample based, the data are subject to revisions. Once each year, estimates are adjusted to new levels based on additional or revised information collected after the initial release of the data (called a benchmark). Additionally, seasonal adjustment factors for historical labor force and nonfarm jobs data are updated each year. Revisions to the statewide labor force and nonfarm jobs series through 2020 have been completed and are reflected in this January news release. For a complete set of benchmarked data, visit www.workstats.dli.pa.gov.
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Editor’s Note: A breakdown of Pennsylvania’s employment statistics follows.
Current Labor Force Statistics
Seasonally Adjusted
(in thousands)
Change from
Change from
January
December
January
December 2020
January 2020
2021
2020
2020
volume
percent
volume
percent
PA
Civilian Labor Force
6,295
6,310
6,532
-15
-0.2%
-237
-3.6%
Employment
5,837
5,862
6,217
-25
-0.4%
-380
-6.1%
Unemployment
458
448
315
10
2.2%
143
45.4%
Rate
7.3
7.1
4.8
0.2
—-
2.5
—-
U.S.
Civilian Labor Force
160,161
160,567
164,455
-406
-0.3%
-4,294
-2.6%
Employment
150,031
149,830
158,659
201
0.1%
-8,628
-5.4%
Unemployment
10,130
10,736
5,796
-606
-5.6%
4,334
74.8%
Rate
6.3
6.7
3.5
-0.4
—-
2.8
—-
Note: February 2021 labor force and nonfarm jobs statistics will be released March 26, 2021.
Pennsylvania Nonagricultural Wage and Salary Employment
Seasonally Adjusted
(in thousands)
Change from
Change from
January
December
January
December 2020
January 2020
2021
2020
2020
volume
percent
volume
percent
Total Nonfarm Jobs
5,638.1
5,602.4
6,093.1
35.7
0.6%
-455.0
-7.5%
Goods Producing Industries
809.8
810.9
861.8
-1.1
-0.1%
-52.0
-6.0%
Mining & Logging
20.8
20.8
26.3
0.0
0.0%
-5.5
-20.9%
Construction
250.4
251.4
264.3
-1.0
-0.4%
-13.9
-5.3%
Manufacturing
538.6
538.7
571.2
-0.1
0.0%
-32.6
-5.7%
Service Providing Industries
4,828.3
4,791.5
5,231.3
36.8
0.8%
-403.0
-7.7%
Trade, Transportation & Utilities
1,098.8
1,093.2
1,128.7
5.6
0.5%
-29.9
-2.6%
Information
80.3
80.4
89.9
-0.1
-0.1%
-9.6
-10.7%
Financial Activities
323.4
323.7
333.0
-0.3
-0.1%
-9.6
-2.9%
Professional & Business Services
770.2
758.1
812.9
12.1
1.6%
-42.7
-5.3%
Education & Health Services
1,234.3
1,223.8
1,307.5
10.5
0.9%
-73.2
-5.6%
Leisure & Hospitality
425.8
415.3
583.0
10.5
2.5%
-157.2
-27.0%
Other Services
225.4
226.7
263.4
-1.3
-0.6%
-38.0
-14.4%
Government
670.1
670.3
712.9
-0.2
0.0%
-42.8
-6.0%
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: February 2021 labor force and nonfarm jobs statistics will be released March 26, 2021.
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