Apr 17, 2015 1 min read

HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate increased by one-tenth of a percentage point in March to 5.3 percent, the state Department of Labor & Industry reported Friday.

Pennsylvania’s rate was two-tenths of a percentage point below the U.S. rate of 5.5 percent, which was unchanged from February. The commonwealth’s rate, which is seasonally adjusted, was down by 0.8 percentage points from March 2014 while the national rate declined by 1.1 points over the year.

Pennsylvania’s civilian labor force increased by 2,000 to 6,375,000 in March. Resident employment was down 5,000 while unemployment was up 7,000.

Total nonfarm jobs declined by 12,700 in March to 5,819,300. The private and public sectors both declined from February, down 11,900 and 800, respectively.

According to L&I, the largest decrease was in education and health services, which fell 6,300 below its February record high, while construction showed the biggest gain, up 2,700.

Over the year, total nonfarm jobs in Pennsylvania were up 54,700 (+0.9 percent). The growth was concentrated within private industries, with the largest gains in trade, transportation and utilities, leisure and hospitality, and education and health services. Only two of the 11 supersectors declined from a year ago – information and government.