Butler County's jobless rate fell to 5.6% in April, its lowest rate since March 2020, aided almost entirely by a roughly 300-person decline in its labor force.

Data released Tuesday by the state Department of Labor & Industry shows the number of workers employed in the county did not change between March and April 2021, remaining steady at 90,300, even as the labor force fell from 96,000 to 95,700 individuals.

The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, and in turn the state labor department, includes in the labor force all workers who are employed as well as those who were not employed, but were available for work and either made at least one specific effort to find a job in the past four weeks or were temporarily laid off and expected to be recalled. An individual's eligibility for, or receipt of, unemployment insurance benefits has no bearing on whether somebody is included in the labor force.

Still, the 5.6% jobless rate is the lowest seen in the county since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated government-imposed business shutdowns.

Prior to the pandemic, the county's jobless rate on average stayed between 3.5% and 4.5%; in March 2020, the rate was at 5% as businesses laid off workers and the state began imposing some restrictions due to the virus.

At the same time, the number of county workers filing for unemployment benefits continues its decline. Roughly 3,865 workers filed for either initial or continued unemployment insurance during the week ending March 27, the lowest in that month; in April, the week with the fewest workers filing for benefits was the week ending April 17, during which 3,069 workers filed for benefits.

That number has continued to decline. For the week ending May 22, according to the most recent data available from the state labor department, just 2,771 workers filed either initial or continued benefits, marking a 28% decline from the lowest March figure.

In fact, the last time there were fewer workers filing for jobless benefits was the week ending March 14, 2020, when 2,305 individuals applied for unemployment insurance.

Sue Bowser, site administrator for PA CareerLink, said she has seen a larger number of people seeking help finding work. For the most part, Bowser attributed the large number of people re-entering employment to the progress made in handling the pandemic.

“They've been off and they feel safe now to re-enter the workforce,” Bowser said.

With the Department of Labor & Industry's recent announcement that those receiving unemployment benefits will need to start actively searching for work again beginning in July, Bowser said she expects to be “busier and busier” with individuals looking to find jobs — even as the number of workers seeking jobless benefits is nearly as low as it was prior to COVID-19's emergence in Pennsylvania.