Pennsylvania Unemployment Rate Improves, Following National Trend

The PA unemployment rate dropped to 4.9%, while the national rate dropped to a record low of 3.6%.

Pennsylvanians, and Americans, are getting back to work.

In March, the joblessness rate in Pennsylvania dropped two-tenths of a percent, down to 4.9%. This is 2.2 percentage points under the rate at the same time last year. The gains are spread across all employment categories, with leisure and hospitality showing the largest gains over the past 12 months.

The national unemployment rate fell to 3.6%, down a massive 2.4 percentage points from March of 2021. Twelve states hit record lows, and Nevada dropped a whopping 4.2% during the same period. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, currently “20 states have unemployment rates below 3%.”

While these numbers are currently being drowned out by inflationary pressures, economists believe those pressures are temporary, while the jobs numbers and the rising wages accompanying them are likely much more rugged and long-term in nature.

In a White House statement, President Biden cited his economic plan as the cause for the good news, saying “This was not an accident: this was the direct result of my economic plan to grow the economy from the bottom up and the middle out.”

And there are some indicators that say the President’s message may be taking hold. Last week, a report from the University of Michigan showed marked improvement in US consumer sentiment for the first time this year, and the biggest one-month increase since 2006.

As always, economic news is complex and often uncertain, but while a number of concerns remain, there is also reason for optimism and evidence that more good economic news may be on the horizon.