Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was unchanged from March at 5.3 percent. Pennsylvania’s rate was one-tenth of a percentage point below the U.S. rate of 5.4 percent, which was down one-tenth of a percentage point in April.
The Commonwealth’s rate was down by 0.7 percentage points from April 2014 while the national rate declined by 0.8 points over the year.
Pennsylvania’s civilian labor force increased by 19,000 to 6,393,000 in April. Resident employment was up 14,000 while unemployment was up 4,000.
Total nonfarm jobs were up 27,000 in April to a record high of 5,845,800. Both the private and public sectors added jobs. Nine of the eleven supersectors were up from March, with the largest increase in construction, up 10,000.
Over the year, total nonfarm jobs in Pennsylvania were up 64,400 (+1.1 percent). The growth was concentrated within private industries, with the largest gains in trade, transportation & utilities, leisure & hospitality, and construction. Only two of the eleven supersectors declined from a year ago – information and government.
