The Pittsburgh area’s jobless rate hit 4.5% in January, jumping 25% from 3.6% unemployment in December, according to the state Department of Labor and Industry.
What gives?
January’s unemployment rate that was released Thursday is not seasonally adjusted because of a redefinition that’s underway of the counties that make up the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area. The December rate was seasonally adjusted, taking into account of things such as holiday retail sales, which gives a better picture of what’s happening in a region’s workforce.
That makes December and January’s rates an apples-to-oranges comparison, especially since December’s numbers didn’t include Lawrence County, which has just been added to the Pittsburgh metropolitan area.
The addition of Lawrence County is the big change for the Pittsburgh area, a region that for years only included seven counties. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget periodically reassesses U.S. metropolitan areas using census data to account for population swings and the growth of new urban centers.
“It’s a pretty big change,” state Industry and Business analyst Dave Hand said. “We’re gritting our teeth at this time, but it’ll make things better going forward.”
Using the figures that were not seasonally adjusted, the unemployment rate rose in four of the Pittsburgh MSA’s seven counties from a year ago and was unchanged in the three other counties, including Allegheny, where the latest and year-ago rates were a region low of 4.1%, which was also shared by Butler County. Washington County’s unemployment rate was 4.5%, up from 3.6% a year ago; Westmoreland, 4.6%, up from 3.7%; and Fayette, 6.4%, up from 5%.
Lawrence County’s unemployment rate in January was 5.6%, up from 5.1% a year ago.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics listed Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate for January at 3.8%, up one-tenth of a percent from December’s rate of 3.7%.
Updated with Lawrence County data 11:01 a.m. March 21, 2025
First Published: March 20, 2025, 4:52 p.m.
Updated: March 21, 2025, 2:11 a.m.
