Pennsylvania’s Unemployment Rate at 4.3 Percent in January

​CONTACT: Trevor Monk, dlipress@pa.gov Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) today released its preliminary employment situation report for January 2023. Pennsylvania's unemployment rate was unchanged over the month at 4.3% in January. The U.S. unemployment rate was down one-tenth of a percentage point from December to 3.4%. The commonwealth's unemployment rate was 0.2 percentage points below its January 2022 level and the national rate was down 0.6 percentage points over the year. At the start of each year, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) uses additional or revised information to adjust prior years' monthly sample-based estimates. Additionally, seasonal adjustment factors for historical labor force and nonfarm jobs data are updated. That process for Pennsylvania's civilian labor force and nonfarm jobs data through 2022 has been completed and is reflected in the analysis of January's preliminary data. "The January data shows stability in Pennsylvania's economy. Throughout 2022 and into January of this year, the unemployment rate remained steady between 4.3 and 4.4 percent and jobs are near record high levels," L&I Acting Secretary Nancy Walker said. Pennsylvania's civilian labor force – the estimated number of residents working or looking for work – was up 11,000 over the month. The employment count rose by 11,000 and resident unemployment was unchanged from December. Pennsylvania's total nonfarm jobs were up 14,800 over the month to 6,085,800 in January. Jobs increased from December in six of the 11 industry supersectors. The largest gain was in education & health services (+8,000), while trade, transportation & utilities jobs rose to a record high level. Over the year, total nonfarm jobs were up 190,200 with gains in all 11 supersectors. As of January 2023, total nonfarm jobs were only 2,100 below the February 2020 record high. Four supersectors - trade, transportation & utilities; information; financial activities; and professional & business services – were above their pre-pandemic job levels in January 2023. Additional information is available on the L&I website at www.dli.pa.gov or by following us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Note: The above data are seasonally adjusted. Seasonally adjusted data provide the most valid month-to-month comparison. January data are preliminary and subject to revision. # # # Editor's Note: A breakdown of Pennsylvania's employment statistics follows. Current Labor Force Statistics Seasonally Adjusted (in thousands)         Change from Change from   January December January December 2022 January 2022   2023 2022 2022 volume percent volume percent PA               Civilian Labor Force 6,492 6,481 6,440 11 0.2% 52 0.8% Employment 6,211 6,200 6,151 11 0.2% 60 1.0% Unemployment 281 281 289 0 0.0% -8 -2.8% Rate 4.3 4.3 4.5 0.0 ---- -0.2 ----           U.S.         Civilian Labor Force 165,832 164,966 163,633 866 0.5% 2,199 1.3% Employment 160,138 159,244 157,122 894 0.6% 3,016 1.9% Unemployment 5,694 5,722 6,511 -28 -0.5% -817 -12.5% Rate 3.4 3.5 4.0 -0.1 ---- -0.6 ---- Note: February 2023 labor force and nonfarm jobs statistics will be released on March 24th, 2023. Pennsylvania Nonagricultural Wage and Salary Employment Seasonally Adjusted (in thousands) Change from Change from January December January December 2022 January 2022   2023 2022 2022 volume percent volume percent Total Nonfarm Jobs 6,085.8 6,071.0 5,895.6 14.8 0.2% 190.2 3.2%   Goods Producing Industries 854.5 852.1 835.0 2.4 0.3% 19.5 2.3%   Mining & Logging 23.1 23.1 22.0 0.0 0.0% 1.1 5.0%   Construction 264.9 262.4 258.3 2.5 1.0% 6.6 2.6%   Manufacturing 566.5 566.6 554.7 -0.1 0.0% 11.8 2.1% Service Providing Industries 5,231.3 5,218.9 5,060.6 12.4 0.2% 170.7 3.4%   Trade, Transportation & Utilities 1,159.7 1,155.7 1,129.0 4.0 0.3% 30.7 2.7%   Information 97.7 95.3 91.1 2.4 2.5% 6.6 7.2%   Financial Activities 338.6 337.9 331.0 0.7 0.2% 7.6 2.3%   Professional & Business Services 854.7 857.0 828.9 -2.3 -0.3% 25.8 3.1%   Education & Health Services 1,296.3 1,288.3 1,237.7 8.0 0.6% 58.6 4.7%   Leisure & Hospitality 547.9 548.3 521.0 -0.4 -0.1% 26.9 5.2%   Other Services 255.2 255.1 245.3 0.1 0.0% 9.9 4.0%   Government 681.2 681.3 676.6 -0.1 0.0% 4.6 0.7% 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: February 2023 labor force and nonfarm jobs statistics will be released on March 24th, 2023.