KRC Note on Sept PA Jobs Report

from our friends at the Keystone Research Center:

Keystone Research Center Economist Stephen Herzenberg issued the following statement on the September Pennsylvania jobs report:


“The number of jobs in Pennsylvania fell by 15,800 in September, over half of which was a 8,300 drop in government jobs. In another troubling indicator, the number of manufacturing jobs in the state fell for the first time in 10 months, a further sign that declines in public-sector employment are dragging down the private economy.

"Since May, the Pennsylvania unemployment rate has increased by more than a percentage point, from 7.4 percent to 8.5 8.3 percent, while the U.S. unemployment rate has held steady at 9.1 percent. As a result, the Pennsylvania Advantage — defined as the amount by which the U.S. unemployment rate exceeds the Pennsylvania unemployment rate — is smaller than it has been in three years. fluctuates a lot on a month-to-month basis, this gap has been smaller than the current 0.8% in only one month since 2009.

"The September report demonstrates yet again that Pennsylvania and the nation need a jobs plan. Policymakers have been sitting on their hands for the past two years and Pennsylvania families are paying the price."