Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) today released its preliminary employment situation report for July 2024.
Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate remained unchanged over the month at 3.4% in July. This was the tenth consecutive month at 3.4% and remains well under the U.S. unemployment rate which rose by two-tenths of a percentage point from its June rate to 4.3%.
The Commonwealth’s unemployment rate was two-tenths of a percentage point above its record low July 2023 level of 3.2%, while the national rate was up eight-tenths of a percentage point over the year.
Pennsylvania’s civilian labor force – the estimated number of residents working or looking for work – was down 1,000 over the month to 6,602,000 in July. The decline was due to a drop in resident employment which also was down 1,000 from June.
Pennsylvania’s total nonfarm jobs were up 12,200 over the month to a record high of 6,191,000, setting the 12th consecutive record high for Pennsylvania’s jobs count. Jobs increased from June in six of the 11 industry supersectors. The largest supersector movement was a gain of 7,700 jobs in government. Education & health services reached a record high for the 14th consecutive month.
Over the year, total nonfarm jobs were up 105,000 with gains in eight of the 11 supersectors. Education & health services (+57,100) had the largest volume over-the-year gain among supersectors.
Note: The above data are seasonally adjusted. Seasonally adjusted data provide the most valid month-to-month comparison. July 2024 data are preliminary and subject to revision.
Additional information is available on the L&I website at www.dli.pa.gov or by following us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
# # #
Current Labor Force Statistics | |||||||
Seasonally Adjusted | |||||||
(in thousands) | |||||||
Change from | Change from | ||||||
July | June | July | June 2024 | July 2023 | |||
2024 | 2024 | 2023 | volume | percent | volume | percent | |
PA | |||||||
Civilian Labor Force | 6,602 | 6,603 | 6,509 | -1 | 0.0% | 93 | 1.4% |
Employment | 6,378 | 6,379 | 6,300 | -1 | 0.0% | 78 | 1.2% |
Unemployment | 224 | 223 | 209 | 1 | 0.4% | 15 | 7.2% |
Rate | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 0.0 | ---- | 0.2 | ---- |
U.S. | |||||||
Civilian Labor Force | 168,429 | 168,009 | 167,113 | 420 | 0.2% | 1,316 | 0.8% |
Employment | 161,266 | 161,199 | 161,209 | 67 | 0.0% | 57 | 0.0% |
Unemployment | 7,163 | 6,811 | 5,904 | 352 | 5.2% | 1,259 | 21.3% |
Rate | 4.3 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 0.2 | ---- | 0.8 | ---- |
| |||||||
Pennsylvania Nonagricultural Wage and Salary Employment | |||||||
Seasonally Adjusted | |||||||
(in thousands) | |||||||
Change from | Change from | ||||||
July | June | July | June 2024 | July 2023 | |||
2024 | 2024 | 2023 | volume | percent | volume | percent | |
Total Nonfarm Jobs | 6,191.0 | 6,178.8 | 6,086.0 | 12.2 | 0.2% | 105.0 | 1.7% |
Goods Producing Industries | 849.6 | 848.3 | 848.0 | 1.3 | 0.2% | 1.6 | 0.2% |
Mining & Logging | 22.9 | 23.0 | 22.7 | -0.1 | -0.4% | 0.2 | 0.9% |
Construction | 259.1 | 258.3 | 260.0 | 0.8 | 0.3% | -0.9 | -0.3% |
Manufacturing | 567.6 | 567.0 | 565.3 | 0.6 | 0.1% | 2.3 | 0.4% |
Service Providing Industries | 5,341.4 | 5,330.5 | 5,238.0 | 10.9 | 0.2% | 103.4 | 2.0% |
Trade, Transportation & Utilities | 1,147.1 | 1,141.1 | 1,143.2 | 6.0 | 0.5% | 3.9 | 0.3% |
Information | 92.4 | 91.2 | 92.5 | 1.2 | 1.3% | -0.1 | -0.1% |
Financial Activities | 343.3 | 344.0 | 339.3 | -0.7 | -0.2% | 4.0 | 1.2% |
Professional & Business Services | 836.0 | 838.9 | 840.4 | -2.9 | -0.3% | -4.4 | -0.5% |
Education & Health Services | 1,373.1 | 1,370.5 | 1,316.0 | 2.6 | 0.2% | 57.1 | 4.3% |
Leisure & Hospitality | 587.9 | 590.3 | 561.6 | -2.4 | -0.4% | 26.3 | 4.7% |
Other Services | 262.6 | 263.2 | 257.4 | -0.6 | -0.2% | 5.2 | 2.0% |
Government | 699.0 | 691.3 | 687.6 | 7.7 | 1.1% | 11.4 | 1.7% |
For a more detailed breakdown of seasonally adjusted jobs data at the sector level, please contact the Center for Workforce Information & Analysis at 1-877-4WF-DATA, or visit www.paworkstats.pa.gov | |||||||
Note: August 2024 labor force and nonfarm jobs statistics will be released on September 20th, 2024. |