Pennsylvania's Department of Labor and Industry's Center for Workforce Information and Analysis released January unemployment estimates for counties on Tuesday.

New jobs data show low unemployment rates in Butler County and a painful season for retail businesses.

Pennsylvania’s Department of Labor and Industry’s Center for Workforce Information and Analysis is nearing the end of its final review of 2018 unemployment data. The center did not release figures in February and instead collected extra January data for use as an annual benchmark, according to analyst Lauren Riegel. Data released Tuesday detailed those January figures, but the center has not yet taken a deeper dive into the year’s figures for its final historical record.

This is why, Riegel explained, Butler County deceptively appears to have significantly less unemployment in January than it did in December.

This is an excerpt — pick up Wednesday's Butler Eagle or subscribe online to read the full article.