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PA’s Latest Jobs Report Indicates More People Are Joining Workforce

Matt Rourke
/
AP

Pennsylvania’s jobless rate has risen slightly, even as unemployment nationwide has gone down.

The numbers come from the state Department of Labor and Industry’s latest jobs report. 

Earlier this year, Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate hit its lowest-ever level, dipping below 4 percent for several months in the spring and summer.

It’s up a bit now—the latest numbers, from November, have it hovering at 4.3 percent, a tenth of a percentage point higher than October.

Meanwhile, the national rate is 3.5 percent—down a tenth of a percent from October.

The state’s Labor and Industry Department said Pennsylvania’s civilian labor force rose by 18,000 people over the month—the fourth straight month in which employment and unemployment both increased.

The department says that likely means more people are entering the workforce.

The number of jobs in the commonwealth are up as well, to a record-high 6,534,000.