May unemployment shows continued local job growth | News

Crawford County continues to see local employment growth with 300 more jobs added within the county in May, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry said Tuesday.

May’s increase of 300 jobs comes on top of 600 local jobs added in April.

Crawford County’s unemployment rate fell to 4.6 percent for May, down from 0.4 percentage points from April’s rate and down 2.5 percentage points from May 2021’s rate of 7.1 percent.

The county’s seasonally adjusted total labor force shifted toward more employment as well in May.

The county’s total labor force is the number of people who live in a county and are in the workforce either employed or unemployed, but they may work in another county.

Crawford County’s total labor force was 37,600 in May with 35,900 employed and 1,700 unemployed. Those numbers are 200 more employed and 200 less unemployed when compared to April. In April, the county’s total labor force was 37,500 with 35,700 employed and 1,900 unemployed. (The April total doesn’t add correctly due to rounding.)

“It’s part of a wider trend statewide with a drop in unemployment coupled with a healthy gain in employment,” said Lauren Riegel, a state labor analyst.

The overall number of jobs based within the county continued to climb in May. There were 29,900 jobs based in the county in May, up a net 300 jobs from April’s 29,600 and 900 above March’s 29,000.

Within the county, the leisure and hospitality job sector saw continued growth in May as more seasonal businesses opened. The sector had a total of 2,400 jobs in May, up 200 from 2,200 in April.

Trade added 100 jobs in May, rising to 3,800, up from 3,700 in April.

Local government also added 100 jobs in May, rising to 2,800, up from 2,700 in April. Riegel said the figure could be due to the addition of temporary summer workers.

The education and health services sector fell by 100 jobs in May, down to 6,700 for the month compared to 6,800 in April.

The number of manufacturing jobs in Crawford County was 7,000 in May, unchanged from April.

The unemployment rate of 4.6 percent for May put Crawford County in a three-way tie with Berks and Wyoming counties at 32 lowest out of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, Riegel said.

The four counties adjoining Crawford also saw their seasonally adjusted unemployment rates fall in May.

The rates for the other counties, listed May, then April, were: Erie, 5.3 percent, 5.5 percent; Mercer, 4.9, 5.4; Venango, 4.8, 5.3; and Warren, 4.4, 4.8.

Statewide, Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate fell in May to 4.6 percent, down from 4.8 percent in April. Meanwhile, the national unemployment rate was 3.6 in May, unchanged from April.