Pennsylvania’s Unemployment Rate Remains Stable

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate remained stable and on par with the national rate in December, although the labor force and payrolls shrank. The state Department of Labor and Industry said Friday that Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was 6.7%, down one-tenth of a percentage point from November’s adjusted rate of 6.8%. In a survey of households, the labor force shrank by an estimated 15,000. Payrolls in Pennsylvania fell by almost 38,000. Pennsylvania has regained a little over half of the 1.1 million jobs lost in the pandemic. Payrolls in eight of 11 job sectors fell, with leisure and hospitality – a category that includes restaurants and bars – losing the most of any sector.