Pennsylvania Sees Big Drop In Jobless Rate In August
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Pennsylvania's unemployment rate took a steep drop in August, as the labor force shrank and payrolls shot up again in a continuing rebound from shutdowns and the worst economic effects of the pandemic, according to state figures released Friday. Pennsylvania's unemployment rate was 10.3% in August, down 2.2 percentage points from July's adjusted rate of 12.5%, the state Department of Labor and Industry said.
It had initially estimated July's rate at 13.7%, among the highest in the nation, but still below the state's pandemic-driven unemployment high of 16.1% in April, the highest rate in more than four decades of record-keeping.
It still badly lags the national rate, which was 8.4% in August.
Payrolls had another big rebound in August, gaining back almost 60,000 of the more than 1.1 million jobs lost since mid-March, when the pandemic hit Pennsylvania. With payrolls at nearly 5.6 million, Pennsylvania has regained slightly more than half the jobs lost in the last six months, according to state figures.
In a survey of households, the labor force shrank by 59,000 in August, receding to 6.3 million, well below the record high in February at close to 6.6 million. Unemployment fell by 144,000 while employment grew by 86,000.
Copyright 2020 The Associated Press.
