Analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows Pennsylvania had its lowest unemployment rate in more than 22 years this August, and steady job growth, the Keystone Research Center said Monday.
Pennsylvania gained 4,900 jobs in August, continuing its trend of job growth over the past six months for a total of 98,000 jobs gained. Since last year, the state has gained 202,000 jobs.
And the state’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.2 percent, down from 4.3 percent in July. In comparison, the country’s unemployment rate rose from 3.5 percent to 3.7 percent in August.
“A low unemployment rate gives workers more bargaining power with employers, a positive development after more than 40 years of wage stagnation and rising inequality,” said KRC economist and executive director Stephen Herzenberg.
Researchers said one factor driving down the unemployment rate is the shrinking Pennsylvania labor force. In November 2019, the labor force reached a peak of 6.58 million, but in August 2022, that number had fallen to 6.45 million – a loss of 130,000 Pennsylvanians seeking employment.
KRC posted the information about the August numbers on its blog updating its analysis of the state of Pennsylvania’s economy in “The State of Working Pennsylvania 2022.” The center said it is the first in a series of blogs that will break KRC’s annual pre-Labor Day check-up on the state’s economy into smaller, more digestible, bite-sized pieces.