HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate continued its rapid drop in February, while employer payrolls inched up and the labor force grew after a 14-month skid, the state Department of Labor and Industry said Friday.

Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate fell two-tenths of a percentage point from 6.4 percent in January to 6.2 percent last month. That is down from 7.7 percent a year ago, a fall driven largely by the unemployed giving up the job search. Economists say not as many younger people are entering the work force as more people retire or quit looking for work.

Pennsylvania’s labor force, or the number of people working or searching for work, rose in February by 15,000 to 6.43 million, the first increase since November 2012.