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Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate fell to 4.1% in February and remains below the rising national rate. JUSTSTOCK/GETTY IMAGES
Pa. unemployment drops, national rate rises
Listen to this articleAs the national unemployment rate rises, Pennsylvania‘s rate fell in February.
The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) released its preliminary employment situation report Friday for February. The report showed that Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was down one-tenth of a percentage point over the month to 4.2% in February.
The U.S. unemployment rate increased one-tenth of a point from January to 4.4% over that same period.
Pennsylvania’s rate continues to perform better than the national rate. The commonwealth’s unemployment rate was a tenth of a point above its February 2025 level of 4.1%, while the U.S. unemployment rate rose two-tenths from last February.
L&I reported that the civilian labor force in Pennsylvania, which is the estimated number of residents working or looking for work, increased by 5,000 over the month to 6,588,000 in February. Employment increased by 7,000 and unemployment declined by 2,000 from January.
Pennsylvania’s total nonfarm jobs were at 6,178,600 in February. Jobs decreased in eight of the 11 industry supersectors. The largest volume gain was in other services, which increased 1,100 over the month, while the largest declines were in trade, transportation & utilities and education & health services.
Over the year, Pennsylvania jobs increased by 18,800 with gains in seven of the 11 supersectors. The largest volume gain from last February was in education & health services, which saw a gain of 28,500.
