Pittsburgh Metro Unemployment Rate Drops to 6.8% in March

HARRISBURG (APRIL 26) – In March, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the seven-county Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) fell two-tenths of a percentage point to 6.8 percent, the lowest unemployment rate since March 2009.

The local rate was below the Pennsylvania rate (7.8%) and the United States rate (8.8%). The Pittsburgh MSA unemployment rate was down 1.5 percentage points from March 2010, while Pennsylvania’s rate was down one percentage point and the national rate fell by nine-tenths of a percentage point over the same period.

Among the commonwealth’s 14 MSAs, the Pittsburgh MSA had the 5th lowest unemployment rate. Within the Pittsburgh MSA, Butler County (6.5%) had the lowest rate and Fayette County (8.8%) had the highest rate. Among Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, unemployment rates ranged from 5.1 percent in Bradford County to 13.3 percent in Cameron County.

Seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs in the Pittsburgh MSA fell 300 in March to 1,133,900. March was the first month to show a decline since September 2010. Pennsylvania jobs were down 1,700 in March to 5,670,100. Jobs in the Pittsburgh MSA were up 16,600 (1.5%) from March 2010, while Pennsylvania jobs rose 76,500 (1.4%) from the previous year’s level.