Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) released its employment situation report for April 2021.
Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was up one-tenth of a percentage point over the month to 7.4 percent in April. The U.S. rate also increased one-tenth of a percentage point from March to 6.1 percent. The commonwealth’s unemployment rate was 8.8 percentage points below its April 2020 level and the national rate was down 8.7 points over the year.
Pennsylvania’s civilian labor force – the estimated number of residents working or looking for work – increased 2,000 over the month as unemployment rose slightly more than employment declined.
Pennsylvania’s total nonfarm jobs were down 4,400 over the month to 5,666,500 in April. Jobs increased in 6 of the 11 industry supersectors with the largest volume gain in construction (+3,400). The largest decline from March was in professional & business services (-6,500). Over the year, total nonfarm jobs were up 703,600 with gains in 9 of the 11 supersectors. Leisure & hospitality had the steepest gain from last April, adding back over 200,000 of the nearly 340,000 jobs lost in March and April 2020.
Additional information is available on the L&I website at www.dli.pa.gov or by following us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Note: The above data are seasonally adjusted. Seasonally adjusted data provide the most valid month-to-month comparison.
