From staff reports
The tri-county area’s April seasonally adjusted unemployment rate – for the most part – was down from March, according to the state Department of Labor & Industry.
Venango County’s rate of 7.1% is four-tenths of a percentage point below March and 1% lower than February. In April of last year, the rate was 15.6%.
Forest County’s rate of 8.3% is 1.2% below March and eight-tenths of a percentage point under February. In April of last year, the rate was 17.9%.
Elsewhere in the region
Mercer County’s rate of 7.4% is six-tenths of a percentage point below March and 1.1% under February. In April of last year, the rate was 18.1%.
Crawford County’s rate of 6.6% is six-tenths of a percentage point below March and 1.3% under February. In March of last year, the rate was 16.3%.
Pennsylvania, U.S. statistics
The state’s April unemployment rate, at 7.4%, is up one-tenth of a percentage point over the month. The U.S. rate also increased one-tenth of a percentage point from March to 6.1%.
Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate is 8.8% below its April 2020 level; the national rate is down 8.7% over the year.
Pennsylvania’s total nonfarm jobs were down 4,400 over the month, to 5,666,500. Jobs increased in six of the 11 industry supersectors, with the largest volume gain in construction at plus-3,400. The largest decline from March was in professional and business services at minus-6,500.
Over the year, total nonfarm jobs were up 703,600, with gains in nine of the 11 supersectors. Leisure and hospitality had the steepest gain from last April, adding back more than 200,000 of the nearly 340,000 jobs lost in March and April 2020.
Other supersectors include mining, logging, financial activities, trade, transportation and utilities, and education and health services.
Additional information is available on the state Department of Labor & Industry website at www.dli.pa.gov.
