Pittsburgh Area Unemployment Rate Holds Steady in September

With the Pittsburgh area jobless rate holding steady at 4.6% for September actual opportunity for job seekers still appears to remain robust compared to the past 5 years. Although this does not tie in to actual strong job growth for our area (job growth still remains stagnant in southwest Pennsylvania) demand for qualified workers in most hourly categories continues to outpace last year due primarily to the number of retirements and population outflow.

This sets up a dichotomy in Pittsburgh’s job market of at least temporarily increasing opportunity for those searching for jobs while not creating new positions that increase overall economic growth and stems the tide of population outflow, especially among young professionals.

Without getting into political debate about what could or should be done to turn the tide and create a spark that stimulates actual job growth (which is not the purpose of this blog) we are certainly at a juncture where decisive action has the potential of reaping greater rewards than at any time in the past decade.

Previous postings have touched on the causes of our long term job growth problems as reported by local media and experts. An excellent blog to follow is Harold Miller’s Pittsburgh’s Future blog. As Pittsburgh enters a long period of demand for the building trades and other opportunities, it is up to state and local government to take action and build on the momentum.

Pittsburgh May Monster Job Index Continues Record Upward Trend!

The May Monster Jobs Index for Pittsburgh was released this week verifying the continuation of the Pittsburgh job market improvement. Pittsburgh hourly jobs were reported to be stronger than higher end positions, but this was mainly attributed to seasonality. Contrary to many other areas of the country, one of the strongest sub categories was construction hiring. Here is a partial quote from the findings:

PITTSBURGH, June 18, 2007 – The Monster Local Employment Index for Pittsburgh gained two points in May, extending a four-month upward growth trend despite a general seasonal slowdown in online recruitment activity among several white-collar occupations. Strong demand for workers in education, manufacturing and construction helped the Index for Pittsburgh achieve a three percent annual growth pace for the month, the highest on record.

Public sector specific occupations such as education, training, and library; and military specific led the Index in terms of growth during the month of May. Both categories have recorded extended growth streaks in 2007. The transportation and material moving; and production categories also registered sharp gains, suggesting improved local demand for manufacturing workers.

Online opportunities in the leisure and hospitality sector also increased last month. Food preparation and serving related occupations noted the steepest year-over-year improvement in the Index as Pittsburgh maintained its number one position for the category among the 28 markets monitored. Sales occupations also reached a new peak after five months of escalating online recruitment activity.

Meanwhile, the white-collar segment edged downward during May, marking an end to the spring recruitment season for entry-level professionals. Architecture and engineering occupations registered the most substantial downturn from the previous month, followed closely by computer and mathematical (IT); and management. Legal again proved to be the most atypical of the white-collar categories, following a muted recruitment month in April with a sharp May increase.

In total, 12 occupational categories rose in May, while five declined and two were unchanged.