State agency releases January regional jobs data

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry recently released regional unemployment data for January that shows slight decreases in county unemployment rates for the start of 2024.

Greater Philadelphia

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 held steady from December at 3.7% in January, Labor & Industry reported. The MSA’s unemployment rate for January 2023 was 4%.

Broken down to the county level, the region experienced slight decreases in unemployment rates in January from December.

Chester County’s unemployment rate was 2.3% in January, down four-tenths of a percentage point from December and seven-tenths of a percentage point from January 2023.

Montgomery County’s rate for January was 2.6%, down two-tenths of a percentage point from December and seven-tenths of a percentage point from January 2023.

Delaware County’s rate was 3% in January, down two-tenths of a percentage point from December and nine-tenths of a percentage point from January 2023.

Seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs in the Philadelphia MSA increased 7,100 from December to a record high of 3,101,700 in January.

Berks County

Berks, which is included in the Reading MSA, saw a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for January of 3.5%, down two-tenths of a percentage point from December. January’s figure represented a decline of seven-tenths of a percentage point from the same period in 2023, when the rate was 4.2%.

Seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs in the Reading MSA rose 0.2%, or up 300 from December to 180,700 in January.

Pennsylvania numbers

Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was unchanged in January at 3.4%, according to Labor & Industry. The unemployment rate for Pennsylvania was four-tenths of a percentage point below its January 2023 level of 3.8%.

Pennsylvania’s total nonfarm jobs were up 14,800 over the month to a record high of 6,129,900. This was the sixth consecutive record high for Pennsylvania’s nonfarm jobs count. Compared with the same period in January 2023, total nonfarm jobs were up 70,100, Labor & Industry said.

Around the state

Among Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, Chester had the third lowest January unemployment rate, tied with Cumberland and Union counties.

Montgomery had the tenth lowest unemployment rate for January, tied with Adams and Centre counties.

Delaware County had the 21st lowest January unemployment rate, but was tied with nine other counties for that position: Allegheny, Carbon, Clearfield, Juniata, Mercer, Somerset, Warren, Westmoreland and York.

Berks had the 52nd lowest January unemployment rate, tied with Fayette, Indiana, Lawrence and Lycoming .

Pennsylvania’s unemployment data for February will be released by the Department of Labor & Industry on March 22, while specific county and municipal data will be released on April 2.