Local not-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate drops to 4.6%
The not-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton Metropolitan Statistical Area dropped four-tenths of a percentage point to 4.6% in March after sitting at 5% in January and February, according to data from the state Department of Labor & Industry.
However, the rate is up three-tenths of a percentage point from March 2024.
'When I tend to look at the unadjusted unemployment rates, you have monthly volatility that could be due to seasonal factors,' said Lauren Riegel, a statistician manager for the state Department of Labor & Industry. 'When I'm looking at the unadjusted data, I like to look at the over-the-year movement.'
The statewide rate was 3.9%, up three-tenths of a percentage point from March 2024, and the national rate was 4.2%, also up three-tenths of a percentage point from last March, according to the department.
'Basically, the Scranton MSA is right on track with the trends we're seeing in the greater region and the nation,' Riegel said.
The number of seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs in the local metro area increased by 600 over the month to a record high 270,400 in March, according to state data.
'This was the third record high in the last four months,' Riegel said. 'Last month's record high matched the record high set in December, and before that a record high had been set in October and September — which broke the April 2019 record. Since then, it seems like every few months it's trending upward and continuing to hit record highs.'
Over the year, the region added 2,900 jobs, an increase of 1.1% while the statewide increase was 1.4%.
Annual revisions to the historical (pre-2025) not-seasonally-adjusted labor force series are now complete and are reflected in the news release; however, due to methodological changes and conversions to the 2020 Census-based Office of Management and Budget (OMB) delineations, seasonally adjusted substate area data will not be available until summer 2025, the department announced.
In March, six of the 10 supersectors saw increased employment in the local metro area with education and health services reaching a record high 56,900 jobs, according to state data. Over the year, education and health services saw the largest employment gain — up 1,800 jobs.
'I think that's a trend we will probably continue to see, especially in a state like ours, because we have an aging population and an increased need for health care services,' Riegel said.
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