Jobless rates decline in Washington, Greene

Unemployment rates in recent months, of course, have been skewed by the coronavirus pandemic, which has displaced numerous workers nationwide.
The figures are diminishing, though, as more people are returning to their jobs. That is reflected in seasonally adjusted statistics released Tuesday by the state Department of Labor & Industry.
Jobless rates declined in Washington and Greene counties from May to June. Washington’s figure dropped from 14.1% to 12.7%, while Greene’s fell from from 13.1% to 12.9%.
Those numbers are in stark contrast from June 2019, when Washington County’s pre-COVID-19 unemployment rate was 4.3% and Greene’s was 4.8%.
Pennsylvania’s rate was 13.0% in June, down four-tenths of a percentage point. The national figure dropped 2.2 points to 11.1%.
Washington is one of seven counties in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area, where the June rate was 12.5%, down 1.4 points from the previous month.
Greene County is not in the MSA.
Washington’s labor force, according to Labor & Industry, was 103,600 in June, down 2,600 from May. June employment was 90,400, a decrease of 800 from May, while the number of county residents listed as unemployed fell from 15,000 to 13,200.
Greene’s labor force (16,300) fell by 400 in June. Its number listed as employed dropped from 14,500 to 14,200, and the number of residents listed as unemployed dropped by 100 to 2,100.
Washington had the fifth-lowest countywide rate in the MSA (which also includes Pittsburgh). Butler County had the lowest jobless figure, 10.5%, followed by Westmoreland (12.0); Allegheny and Armstrong (both 12.4%); Washington; Beaver (both 14.3); and Fayette (15.3%). Fayette County’s rate dropped from 16.9% in May.
Each of those counties posted a decrease of at least nine-tenths of a percentage point, with Westmoreland experiencing the largest drop-off – 2.2 percentage points.
Non-farm jobs in the Pittsburgh MSA rose 4.8% over the month, an increase of 49,500 to 1,071,900. Year over year, however, jobs in the MSA were down 10.1% (102,900). Statewide jobs declined 10.2%.
Nine of the 11 supersectors in the Pittsburgh MSA posted job gains from May to June.
Government was the only supersector that experienced a jobs decline – 2,500 – as colleges and universities released staff for summer break.