Butler County’s jobless rate dropped 3.5 percent
Butler County’s jobless rate dropped to 3.5% in May 2022, the lowest rate out of the seven-county Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Data released Tuesday by the state Department of Labor & Industry indicated that Butler County’s jobless rate has continued to decrease, from 5.4% in May of 2021.
In March 2022, Butler County’s jobless rate stood at 4.2%, which decreased to 3.7% in April.
The civilian labor force in Butler County increased by roughly 1,500 people from April to May this year, which was the third highest increase out of the region.
Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland are among the the six other counties in the region.
Fayette has the highest jobless rate at 5.5% in May, with a civilian labor force of 55,500, with 3,100 of those people unemployed.
The seasonally adjusted jobless rate in the metropolitan area was down one-tenth of a percentage point from April to May at 4.7%.
Statewide the jobless rate fell from 4.8% to 4.6%, while the national rate was unchanged from April at 3.6%.
Jobs rose over the past month in six of the 11 “supersectors” — the broadest groups of industries — which included a seasonal gain in leisure and hospitality of 9,100 jobs in the region.
The leisure and hospitality sector gained 19,200 jobs in the past year, with a total now of 118,900.
Pittsburgh’s metropolitan area ranks second in the state, with a civilian labor force of nearly 1.2 million.
Philadelphia ranked first with almost 3.2 million and a 4% jobless rate, which matches the state average.
Educational services lost about 1,600 workers from April to May of this year in the Pittsburgh region, while wholesale and retail trades lost a combined 1,900.
Construction jobs are up by 1,200 in the past month in the metropolitan area, but is still down 1,600 in the past year.
The metropolitan statistical area with the highest jobless rate in the state was East Stroudsburg at 5.4%, with a civilian labor force of 82,800.
