Jobless rate in Butler County tied for lowest in region
Butler County’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate for August was 3.5%, tied for the lowest in the seven-county Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area, but up from 2.8% in July, according to the most recent data from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry.
Despite the increase here, the Pittsburgh region’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate went unchanged from July to August, rounding out at 3.4%.
The statewide rate stood unchanged at 3.4%, while the national rate ticked down one-tenth of a percentage point to 4.2%.
Armstrong, Allegheny, Beaver, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland are the other counties in the Pittsburgh region.
Allegheny County also came in with a seasonally adjusted jobless rate of 3.5%, up from 3.2% in July.
Washington County came in with the next lowest rate in the region at 3.6%, followed by Westmoreland County at 3.7%, Beaver County at 3.9%, Armstrong County at 4.1% and then Fayette County the highest at 4.6%.
In counties surrounding Butler not classified as part of the Pittsburgh region, Mercer and Venango Counties came in with a seasonally adjusted rate of 3.9%, followed by Lawrence County at 4.2% and Clarion County at 4.6%.
The Gettysburg and State College regions again had the lowest rate in the state at 2.6%, which has remained unchanged since March.
The regions with the highest rates in the state were East Stroudsburg and Johnstown, which both came in with a rate of 4%.
Seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs in the Pittsburgh region increased by 2,800 from July to August. Statewide, jobs in the Pittsburgh region are up by 1.7% since August 2023.
Jobs decreased from July to August in eight of the 11 “supersectors” in the Pittsburgh area — the broadest groups of industries.
The August supersector figures were not seasonally adjusted, according to the state labor and industry department.
The largest decreases were seen in leisure and hospitality, down 2,000 jobs, followed by government, down 1,300 from July to August.
Both movements were seasonal in nature; however, leisure and hospitality’s drop started sooner this year than in recent years.
Over the past year, eight of the 11 supersectors increased, led by education and health services which added 11,400 jobs, followed by leisure and hospitality which gained 6,100 jobs.
