Mar 11, 2013 2 min read

Pennsylvania added 117,900 jobs in the private sector over a two-year period ending Jan. 31, according to the state Department of Labor & Industry.

The department Monday released jobs figures plus annual benchmark revisions, in which monthly estimates of jobs are replaced with employer-reported data. The revisions indicate that more private sector jobs were added than had been reported.

“This increase in private-sector jobs is great news for the state,” said Labor & Industry Secretary Julia Hearthway, referring to the six-figure growth from January 2011 to January 2013. “This is strong evidence that our economy continues on a solid path of growth.”

About 7,800 private-sector jobs were added in January, the bulk of the increase being in education and health services. The number of jobs in this area increased 39,300 over the year, resulting in a total of 5,029,600 private-sector positions statewide through Jan. 31.

Pennsylvania’s labor force rose to an all-time high of 6,552,000 January, The unemployment rate for that month, though, was 8.2 percent, up from 7.9 percent in January 2012.

“A growing labor force means people have confidence in Pennsylvania’s economy and their chances of finding a job,” Hearthway said. “While this growth can also cause a change in our unemployment rate, it is a critical sign of a healthy economy because more people are actively looking for work.”

The benchmark revisions indicate that in 2012, the state added 4,000 more jobs in the private sector and lost 8,100 more in the public sector than originally estimated.

The state plans to release county by county employment data for January on March 19.