HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry released its employment situation report for March 2016.
According to a news release, Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was up three-tenths of a percentage point from February to 4.9 percent. Pennsylvania’s rate remained below that of the United States, which was up one-tenth of a percentage point to 5.0 percent.
The state’s rate was down four-tenths of a percentage point since March 2015 while the national rate declined by five-tenths of a percentage point over the year.
Pennsylvania’s civilian labor force was up 30,000 in March to 6,501,000, a record high. Resident employment rose by 14,000 while the unemployment count increased by 17,000.
Total nonfarm jobs increased 15,300 to a record high of 5,891,700 in March. Seven of the eleven supersectors added jobs, with four up by at least 3,000 from February. The largest gain was in construction (+6,000), while the largest drop was in manufacturing (-800).
Over the year, total nonfarm jobs in Pennsylvania were up 81,000 (+1.4%). All eight service-providing supersectors added jobs from March 2015, while two of the three goods-producing supersectors declined. The largest increase from last year was in education & health services (+24,600), while the largest decline was in mining & logging (-8,900).
The news release noted that the data is seasonally adjusted to provide the most valid month-to-month comparison.
