Area jobless rates fall in March, employment rises
Area jobless rates fell in March as employers in the Pittsburgh region added nearly 10,000 new jobs to their payrolls. In her monthly report, Michelle Hiester, labor department Center for Workforce Information industry and business analyst, said the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the seven-county Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA) receded to 3.6 percent in March.
Hiester also reported that unemployment in Fayette County fell to 4.3 percent; Washington County’s rate fell to 3.7 percent; and Greene County’s jobless rate fell to 3.9 percent.
By comparison, unemployment rates in February were 4.9 percent in Fayette County; 4.1 percent in Washington County; and 4.4 percent in Greene County. Jobless rates in March 2006 were 6.2 percent in Fayette, 4.9 percent in Washington and 5.7 percent in Greene.
Among all 67 Pennsylvania counties, Fayette County’s jobless rate ranked 46th highest in March; Washington County’s was 22nd highest; and Greene County’s rate was 27th highest.
Chester County had the lowest March jobless rate of 2.7 percent and Potter County had the highest at 6.6 percent.
Hiester reported that over the month, declines in resident unemployment pulled the rate down .3 percent.
“The rate was .2 percent below the Pennsylvania rate (3.8 percent) and .8 percent below the national rate (4.4 percent) in March,’ she said.
The PMSA’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate tied with the Altoona and Reading MSAs for sixth lowest among the 14 MSAs in Pennsylvania.
Hiester said rates ranged from 2.9 percent in the Lancaster and Lebanon MSAs to a high of 4.2 percent in the Scranton-Wilkes Barre and Williamsport MSAs. The PMSA’s unemployment rate was down from 4.7 percent in March 2006 due to shrinking unemployment rolls, Hiester said.
“Compared to March 2006, total nonfarm jobs in the PMSA were up 6,700, keeping the job level above the year-ago count for the 14th consecutive month. The 12-month moving average of total jobs, which smoothes out the month-to-month fluctuations, was up about 6,800 from January 2006, indicating improvements over the last 15 months,’ she added.
The seasonally adjusted labor force in the PMSA in March numbered 1,189,400, of which 1,146,300 were employed and 43,000 were not. By comparison, the February labor force totaled 1,197,700 with 1,151,100 employed and 46,600 unemployed.
Meanwhile, PMSA employers added 9,900 jobs to their payrolls in March.
Hiester said that construction and leisure and hospitality accounted for more than half of the total gain.
“Construction job counts were up 3,500 over the month as hiring began for spring contracts. The February-to-March gain was above the five-year average increase of 2,600,’ she said.
“Retailers expanded payrolls by 1,000 over the month. The recent opening of a Costco in the PMSA helped push job levels up above the average monthly gain,’ Hiester added.
Professional and business services also added 1,000 jobs in March, she said, while administrative and support services, which includes landscaping, security and travel agencies, increased by 600 over the month.
“Education and health services added 1,200 employees to their complement. Three out of every four workers added where in health care and social assistance.
“Leisure and hospitality employment rose over the month as typically happens at the onset of spring. Over half of this over-the-month gain was experienced in restaurants,’ Hiester added.