Jun 1, 2016 2 min read

Unemployment rates for Washington and Greene counties rose for a fourth consecutive month in April.

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry released seasonally adjusted statistics Wednesday, listing Washington’s jobless figure at 6.8 percent, up five-tenths of a point from March, and Greene’s at 8.1 percent, a slight uptick from 8.0.

Both counties have experienced a significant increase in joblessness since April 2015. Washington’s rate then was 5.5 percent, Greene’s 5.9.

Only 17 months earlier, November 2014, Greene County had 3.9 percent unemployment – less than half of the most recent rate.

Each local county was well above the national (5.0 percent) and Pennsylvania (5.3) figure for April. Washington has exceeded the U.S. rate 10 months in a row and the state figure nine of the past 10 – tying it once. Greene has had a higher rate than the United States and Pennsylvania for 14 consecutive months.

Washington County had the same size workforce in April as in March (108,000), but 500 more people were listed as unemployed (7,300, from 6,800 in March). Greene’s labor force (18,500) and number of employed (17,000) were both down by 100.

Washington is one of seven counties in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area, which experienced a three-tenths of a percentage point increase from March to 5.8 percent. That was up from 5.4 percent April 2015.

Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette and Westmoreland counties make up the rest of the MSA.

Butler had the lowest figure (5.4) and Fayette the highest (8.7) of the seven counties. Allegheny (5.6) was the second lowest and Westmoreland (6.3) third. Washington and Beaver (6.8) tied for fourth, ahead of Armstrong (7.9) and Fayette.

Adams (4.0) had the lowest rate among counties in the state. Fayette and Potter tied for last (8.7).

Nonfarm jobs decreased by 3,000 in the Pittsburgh MSA, to 1,164,300. Over the year, they were up 0.4 percent (4,700) in the MSA and 0.9 percent statewide.

The construction and leisure and hospitalities supersectors tied for the largest monthly job increases (4,400 each). Professional and business services jobs were up 2,300, mostly in administrative and waste services.