Encouraging Trend: Unemployment Drops in Region

Southwestern Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate dropped to less than 4 percent in April, hovering slightly higher than the national average as workers in the region and nation continue to find little difficulty finding jobs.

Unemployment in the region again fell to rates that haven’t been seen since the early 1970s. The seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in the seven-county Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area decreased .5 percent, dropping from 4.3 percent in April 2018 to 3.8 percent in April 2019.

Unemployment in the region mirrors the rest of the nation. Only 3.6 percent of people in the U.S. workforce were unemployed in April 2019, which ranks as the lowest national jobless rate in 50 years.

Employment varied across the Pittsburgh region. But all counties experienced lower unemployment in April compared to one year earlier. Unemployment in Butler County fell to 3.2 percent, the lowest rate in the Pittsburgh MSA. Unemployment fell to 3.5 in Allegheny County, the region’s urban core that includes the City of Pittsburgh. In Fayette County, unemployment hit 4.9 percent, which is the highest rate in the region.

The region’s economy showed more bright signs in April. Year-over-year, the number of people in the labor force increased by 17,600 workers, while the number of unemployed decreased by 7,600.