Pittsburgh MSA Unemployment Rate Steady At 6.8%

HARRISBURG (MAY 30) – In April, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the seven-county Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) remained at 6.8 percent.

Pittsburgh’s rate was still below both Pennsylvania’s rate (7.4%), and the United States’ rate (8.1%), which were each down one-tenth of a percentage point in April. Over the year, the Pittsburgh MSA’s unemployment rate was down half of a percentage point, the same as Pennsylvania’s movement from last April, while the national rate was down nine-tenths. Among the commonwealth’s 14 MSAs, the Pittsburgh MSA tied for the fifth lowest unemployment rate in April. Within the Pittsburgh MSA, Butler County (6.1%) had the lowest rate while Fayette County (8.5%) had the highest rate. Among Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, unemployment rates ranged from 5.3 percent in Montour County to 11.7 percent in Cameron County.

Seasonally adjustedTotal nonfarm jobs in the Pittsburgh MSA were down 1,300 in April. The April decline followed two months of increases. Pennsylvania’s nonfarm job count also dropped in April, down 600 to 5,727,700. Jobs in the Pittsburgh MSA were up 16,400 (1.4%) from April 2011, twice the Pennsylvania growth rate of 0.7% over the year.

April Industry Detail (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

In April, Pittsburgh MSA goods-producing jobs rose by 2,600 to 144,100. The majority of the increase was due to construction, up 2,400 as spring hiring began. Over the year, local goods producing jobs were down 1,700 with the vast majority of the decline attributable to construction. Mining & logging was up 1,200 from last April, and has shown over-the-year increases of at least 1,000 since April 2010.

Pittsburgh MSA service providers added 8,200 jobs in April. The largest increase was a typical spring leisure & hospitality gain, up 4,600 jobs. Education & health services showed a decline of 500 due to a record April drop in health care & social assistance that was driven by social assistance. Professional & business services added 2,200 jobs, aided in part by an increase of 1,000 in administrative & waste services, which includes landscapers. Over the year, education & health services (+8,700) and professional & business services (+3,200) recorded the greatest job growth, while government (-3,400) experienced the largest employment decline.