Unemployment up, but so is the labor force in some area counties
Unemployment rates rose in three area counties but backtracked in a fourth, according to seasonally adjusted figures released Tuesday by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry.
The reason for much of that increase, however, is a growing workforce, according to state officials.
Fayette County unemployment went up from 8.5 percent in August to 8.6 percent in September, while Greene County held steady at its August rate of 7.6 percent, after inching up from 7.5 percent in July.
Fayette was tied with Forest County for the top rate of any of the 67 Pennsylvania counties in August, but the rate in Forest County rose to 9.0 percent in September, putting it alone as the top jobless rate in the commonwealth.
Chester County had the lowest rate in the state in September, 4.1 percent, the same as August but up from 4.0 percent in July.
The rate inched up from 6.4 percent in August to 6.5 percent in Washington County, but fell back from 6.3 percent in August to 6.1 percent in Westmoreland County.
In all four counties the rate is up from a year ago, when Fayette had a 7.2 percent rate, Greene 5.9 percent, Washington 5.5 percent and Westmoreland 5.2 percent.
The number of unemployed in Fayette County remained steady at 5,100, up from 4,800 in July but unchanged from August, while the Fayette workforce grew from 59,200 in July to 59,300 in August and 59,500 in September. A year ago Fayette County had 58,400 in its workforce and 4,200 on the jobless list.
The number of unemployed in Greene County was unchanged since July at 1,400, but up from 1,100 a year ago, while the workforce as seasonally adjusted was up from 17,900 in September 2015 to 18,500 in July, 18,600 in August and 18,700 in September of this year.
One figure not seasonally adjusted is the total number employed in mining, logging and construction industries in Greene County. That figure remained steady for a third month at 5,100, up from 4,800 in September 2015, while across Pennsylvania the category of mining and logging had the largest decline of workers at 7,900.
The number of unemployed in Washington County was 7,000, up from 6,900 in August, 6,700 in July and 5,800 in September 2015. Washington’s workforce grew from 106,600 in September 2015 to 107,700 in July and August and 108,100 in September of this year.
The number of unemployed in Westmoreland County went down from 11,600 in August to 11,400 in September. That’s still up from 11,100 in July of this year and 9,500 in September 2015.
After slipping from 185,500 in July to 185,400 in August, Westmoreland’s workforce rose again to 185,600. In September 2015 it was 183,300.
Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland are part of the seven-county Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area, which at 6.0 percent was up a tenth of a percent from August and nine-tenths of a percent from a year ago.
That still placed Pittsburgh in 13th place among Pennsylvania’s 18 MSAs. Rates ranged in September from 4.2 percent in Gettysburg (Adams County) to 7.2 percent in Johnstown (Cambria and Somerset counties).
The September seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Pennsylvania was unchanged at 5.7 percent while the national unemployment rate was up by one-tenth of a percent to 5.0 percent.