Pennsylvania's Employment Situation: February 2008

HARRISBURG, Pa., March 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Pennsylvania's seasonally adjusted civilian labor force -- the number of people working or looking for work -- fell to 6,345,000 in February, a decrease of 16,000 from January's record-high. In February, resident employment was down 26,000, while unemployment rose by 10,000. The labor force was up 54,000 from February 2007, with employment and unemployment up over the year.

Pennsylvania's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose by 0.1 of a percentage point to 4.9 percent in February -- up 0.6 of a percentage point from February 2007. The national rate decreased 0.1 of a percentage point to 4.8 percent.

Pennsylvania's seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs count fell to 5,803,700 in February -- down 8,000 from the all-time high set in January. Five of 11 supersectors added jobs in February, but declines in trade, transportation and utilities (-4,300), and construction (-3,800) overshadowed modest gains in other supersectors. Despite the overall job decline, leisure & hospitality (+200) reached a record high level at 505,100 jobs.

Since February 2007, Pennsylvania added a net total of 26,800 jobs; 178,000 jobs since January 2003.

EDITOR'S NOTE: A breakdown of Pennsylvania's employment statistics follows.

Current Labor Force Statistics
Seasonally Adjusted
(in thousands)
Change from Change from
February January February January 2008 February 2007
2008 2008 2007 volume percent volume percent
PA
Civilian Labor
Force 6,345 6,361 6,291 -16- 0.3% 54 0.9%
Employment 6,032 6,058 6,018 -26- 0.4% 14 0.2%
Unemployment 313 303 274 10 3.3% 39 14.2%
Rate 4.9 4.8 4.3 0.1 --- 0.6 ---
U.S.
Civilian Labor
Force 153,374 153,824 152,725 -450 -0.3% 649 0.4%
Employment 145,993 146,248 145,888 -255 -0.2% 105 0.1%
Unemployment 7,381 7,576 6,837 -195 -2.6% 544 8.0%
Rate 4.8 4.9 4.5 -0.1 --- 0.3 ---
Pennsylvania Nonagricultural Wage and Salary Employment
Seasonally Adjusted
(in thousands)
Change from Change from
February January February January 2008 February 2007
2008 2008 2007 volume percent volume percent

Total Nonfarm
Jobs 5,803.7 5,811.7 5,776.9 -8.0 -0.1% 26.8 0.5%

Goods Producing
Industries 931.7 936.4 940.2 -4.7 -0.5% -8.5 -0.9%
Natural Resources
& Mining 21.4 21.5 20.8 -0.1 -0.5% 0.6 2.9%
Construction 262.0 265.8 259.2 -3.8 -1.4% 2.8 1.1%
Manufacturing 648.3 649.1 660.2 -0.8 -0.1% -11.9 -1.8%

Service Providing
Industries 4,872.0 4,875.3 4,836.7 -3.3 -0.1% 35.3 0.7%
Trade, Transportation
& Utilities 1,131.3 1,135.6 1,132.1 -4.3 -0.4% -0.8 -0.1%
Information 107.1 106.9 107.2 0.2 0.2% -0.1 -0.1%
Financial
Activities 330.9 330.9 332.9 0.0 0.0% -2.0 -0.6%
Professional & Business
Services 711.4 711.2 697.8 0.2 0.0% 13.6 1.9%
Education & Health
Services 1,084.3 1,084.5 1,065.9 -0.2 0.0% 18.4 1.7%
Leisure &
Hospitality 505.1 504.9 499.5 0.2 0.0% 5.6 1.1%
Other Services 257.4 257.2 256.4 0.2 0.1% 1.0 0.4%
Government 744.5 744.1 744.9 0.4 0.1% -0.4 -0.1%

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 http://www.paworkstats.state.pa.us/

Note: March 2008 labor force and nonfarm jobs statistics will be released April 18, 2008.

CONTACT:
Troy Thompson
717-787-7530

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry

CONTACT: Troy Thompson of Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry,
+1-717-787-7530

Web Site: http://www.state.pa.us/

2008-03-20 17:58:09 0317667 PRNEWSWIRE