HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania's job losses continued to pile up in April, but new figures show the rate of loss eased during the month.

The state Department of Labor and Industry said Thursday that Pennsylvania's employers slashed an estimated 17,300 nonfarm jobs in April.

But that's after cutting more than 30,000 in both February and March. Still, Pennsylvania now has fewer jobs than it did in September 2004.

Since the recession began in December 2007, Pennsylvania has lost more than 155,000 jobs, or one in every 37.

Pennsylvania's unemployment rate remained unchanged in April at 7.8 percent, as fewer people appear to be looking for work.

Before April, the state's unemployment rate had risen for 14 straight months to its highest point since 1992.

The national rate is more than a full percentage point higher.