Jobless rate drops in Washington, holds steady in Greene
Besieged by rising unemployment most of the year, Washington County watched its rate fall to 5.5 percent in October, down 0.2 of a point from September.
That was the county’s second decline in three months. Washington’s September rate of 5.7 percent was a full percentage point above its October 2014 figure of 4.7.
The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry released seasonally adjusted statistics Thursday, which also showed that Greene’s rate held steady at 5.9 percent. That was 1.1 points above the October 2014 rate of 4.8.
Both local counties were above the U.S. (5.0) and Pennsylvania (5.1) rates for October. Greene has been above the Pennsylvania and national jobless levels for eight consecutive months, after being at or below both sets of figures for at least 30 straight months.