Nov 17, 2018 1 min read

The monthly statewide employment report was a bagful of treats, with the October jobless rate staying low and the number of jobs hitting a record high.

Unemployment was 4.1 percent, the same as in September, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry reported Friday morning. That figure is seven-tenths of a percentage point lower than it was in October 2017, and remains the state’s lowest rate since July 2000.

Nonfarm jobs increased by 18,500 to an estimated 6,063,400, an all-time high. Still another record was established in the category of number of employed Pennsylvanians – 6,155,000, an increase of 21,000. The number of jobless residents rose by 3,000 from September, but was down by 44,000 from last October.

The estimated civilian labor force – number of Pennsylvanians working or looking for work – increased by 23,000 over the month.

Labor & Industry also reported that jobs increased in eight of 11 industry supersectors over the month. Jobs in two of those supersectors – professional and business services and education and health services jobs – hit record highs. Education and health services, meanwhile, posted the largest monthly gain (5,900).

Over the past 12 months, jobs increased 1.5 percent and gains were made in nine supersectors.

The figures are seasonally adjusted.