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Pennsylania Unemployment Rate Up Slightly for July

Pennsylvania's jobless rate is up slightly but remains better than the national figure. The state Department of Labor and Industry said Friday the seasonally adjusted rate last month was 5.7 percent, up one tenth of a percentage point from June.

“There’s nothing to be alarmed about,” said Sara Goulet, a department spokeswoman. “It’s a very, very small uptick and we do see those periodically. It’s the natural ebb and flow of the employment situation.”

The U.S. rate is currently 6.2 percent.

“Jobs, although they were down ever so slightly in July, they are up over 50,000 over the year and that’s total jobs – so that’s all good news, we continue to recover from the great recession.”

One year ago, the statewide unemployment rate was 7.5 percent.

The civilian labor force fell by 32,000, and unemployment rose by 4,000, the first increase in nearly two years. The agency says private industry lost 3,400 jobs, but hiring in the public sector rose for the sixth straight month.

The biggest job gains are in construction.