Pennsylvania jobless rate falls, hiring flattens
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s jobless rate has fallen to another post-recession low even as payrolls remain static and below pre-recession levels, according to employment figures released Friday.
November’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Pennsylvania was 5.1 percent, which is three-tenths of a percentage point lower than the month before, according to the figures from the state Department of Labor and Industry.
It’s the second straight month Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate fell by that much. The rate in October was 5.4 percent, and the rate in September was 5.7 percent.
The lowest rate of the past decade in Pennsylvania was 4.2 percent in 2007, while the highest was 8.7 percent in 2010. The U.S. rate is now 5.8 percent.
However, Pennsylvania’s payrolls remain below pre-recession levels, while the nation’s payrolls surpassed the pre-recession high in May and hit another record high in November.