Pennsylvania's unemployment rate continued its rapid drop in February, while employer payrolls inched up and the labor force grew after a 14-month skid.
The state Department of Labor and Industry said Friday that Pennsylvania's unemployment rate fell two-tenths of a percentage point to 6.2 percent last month. It was last at that mark in 2008. The national rate was 6.7 percent in February.
Pennsylvania's labor force, or the number of people working or searching for work, rose in February by 15,000, the first increase since November 2012. Employment rose by 28,000 and unemployment fell by 15,000.
In a separate survey of employers, the department estimated that payrolls rose by 8,700. That number is still below the total jobs Pennsylvania had two years before its 2008 peak.
