Regional unemployment data continues to show improvement

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry on Tuesday released July unemployment data for the region that showed decreases for the month and continued improvement from one year ago.

Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties are included in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Statistical Area, or MSA — which includes Philadelphia and surrounding counties in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington MSA declined one-tenth of a percentage point from June, to a record low 3.6% in July, Labor & Industry said. The MSA’s unemployment rate for the same period in 2022 was 4%.

Broken down to the county level, Chester County’s rate was 2.3% in July, down three-tenths of a percentage point from June, and down four-tenths of a percentage point from July 2022, when the rate was 2.7%.

Montgomery County’s rate for July was 2.5%, down four-tenths of a percentage point from June and down six-tenths of a percentage point from July 2022, when the rate was 3.1%.

Delaware County’s rate was 2.9% in July, down three-tenths of a percentage point from June and down one percentage point from July 2022, when the rate was 3.9%.

Philadelphia County’s July unemployment rate was 4%, down three-tenths of a percentage point from June, and down 1.5 percentage points since July 2022, when the rate was 5.5%.

Seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs in the Philadelphia region increased 6,900 from June to a 14th consecutive record high of 3,109,800 in July. Jobs were up 2.8% over July 2022, an increase of 84,900 in the MSA.

Berks, which is included in the Reading MSA, saw a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for July of 3.6%, a decrease of one-tenth of a percentage point from June. The last time the MSA’s rate was 3.6% or lower was in September 1989, when the rate was 3.2%. The historical low of 2.8% occurred in March of 1989, Labor & Industry said. The MSA’s unemployment rate for the same period in 2022 was 4.4%.

Seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs in the Reading MSA were unchanged in July, at 179,800. Jobs were up 1.4% over July 2022, an increase of 2,500 in the MSA.

Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate declined three-tenths of a percentage point over the month to 3.5% in July, the lowest rate on record. Labor & Industry said. The state’s unemployment rate was 0.8 percentage points below its July 2022 level of 4.3%. The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry released state data for July on Friday, Aug. 18.

Pennsylvania’s total nonfarm jobs were up 14,400 from June to a new record high of 6,149,000 in July. This was the seventh month in a row that jobs have set hit a new all-time high level. Jobs increased in eight of the 11 industry supersectors with the largest gain in education & health services, up 6,700 — a record high level. Professional & business services also rose to a record high.

• Among the state’s 67 counties, Chester had the second lowest July unemployment rate at 2.3%.

• Montgomery was fourth lowest with 2.5%, tied with Perry County.

• Delaware was tied with Centre, Dauphin, Fulton, Susquehanna and Union counties for 10th lowest at 2.9%.

• Berks had the 39th lowest July rate with 3.6%, tied with Beaver, Blair, Carbon, and Indiana counties.

• Philadelphia County was ranked 54th with a July unemployment rate of 4%, tied with Huntingdon and Venango counties.

• Forest County had July’s highest unemployment rate at 5.1%, down from 5.3% in June.

The Gettysburg MSA was, at 2.7% in July, the lowest among the state’s 18 metro areas. The Lehigh Valley was at 3.7% and Lancaster was at 2.8%. East Stroudsburg had the highest rate at 4.8%.

Pennsylvania’s unemployment data for August will be released by the Department of Labor & Industry on Sept. 15, while specific county and municipality data will be released on Sept. 26.