Pennsylvania’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell slightly to 5.6 percent in December, as people dropped out of the labor force amid a dearth of new positions, according to the state Department of Labor and Industry’s monthly data released Friday.
Over the year, however, the long-term trend remained: The labor force has grown significantly from December 2015, pushing up the state’s unemployment rate by almost a full percentage point.
Since December 2015, the report showed, the state’s labor force has netted 73,000 more people. Of those, 66,000 were counted as unemployed and looking for work, while about 7,000 had found jobs.
The government counts people as part of the labor force when they take specific actions to look for a job.
Mirroring the rise in employment, employers across the state have opened up about 32,000 more jobs over the year, a job growth of 0.5 percent.
Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate has increased by a full percentage point, mostly because people who had previously given up actively looking for work are now on the hunt for jobs.
And they have done so at a rate not seen across the country, with the state’s jobless rate consistently higher than the national rate. U.S. unemployment registered at about 4.7 percent in December, down from 5 percent from the year before.
The growth in Pennsylvania’s labor force is likely a welcome sign for economists who see low workforce participation as a sign of weakness in the economy. But it raises a question of whether unemployed people have the skills or desire to get the jobs available.
Comparing industries, job growth has varied drastically in Pennsylvania. In 2016, education and health services led the way by adding 23,500 payroll positions, a 2 percent job growth. Construction added 3,900 jobs, or 1.7 percent of its workforce, and professional and business services added 10,700 positions, for 1.4 percent growth.
Six of the 11 industry groups experienced no growth or a decline in available jobs over the year. Mining and logging suffered a 25 percent cut — from nearly 31,000 to 23,000 positions. Information declined by 4 percent. Manufacturing and trade, transportation and utilities saw no real growth.
Pennsylvania ranked 36th among states in job growth, according to annual figures from November gathered by the U.S. Bureau of Labor.
The latest data are tentative and will be revised for next month’s statewide report. The state is scheduled to release December data on the Pittsburgh region on Jan. 31.
Daniel Moore: dmoore@post-gazette.com, 412-263-2743 and Twitter @PGdanielmoore.
First Published: January 20, 2017, 5:12 p.m.
Updated: January 21, 2017, 3:44 a.m.