Site last updated: Monday, April 20, 2026

Log In

Reset Password
MENU
Butler County's great daily newspaper

Unemployment rate stable in state, but labor force shrinks

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate remained stable and on par with the national rate in December, although the labor force and payrolls shrank, according to state figures released Friday.

Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was 6.7%, down one-tenth of a percentage point from November’s adjusted rate of 6.8%, the state Department of Labor and Industry said. The rate shot up from 4.7% just before the pandemic hit to 16.1% in April, Pennsylvania’s highest rate in more than four decades of record-keeping.

The national rate was 6.7% in December.

In a survey of households, the labor force — a measure of people working or looking for work — shrank by an estimated 15,000 in December, falling below 6.3 million. The number of unemployed and employed both fell. Payrolls in Pennsylvania fell in December by almost 38,000, remaining just above 5.6 million, according to surveys of employers.

More in Pennsylvania News

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

* indicates required
TODAY'S PHOTOS