As I said last week, Pennsylvania’s June jobs report raises several concerns about the fragile economic recovery. It was the second month in a row of job losses, with total nonfarm employment dropping by 2,600 jobs.
As I said last week, Pennsylvania’s June jobs report raises several concerns about the fragile economic recovery. It was the second month in a row of job losses, with total nonfarm employment dropping by 2,600 jobs.
Taking into account June’s poor performance, the Commonwealth has added an average of just over 2,600 jobs a month in the second quarter. That’s down from the 9,700 jobs per month the Commonwealth added in the first quarter of this year. The Keystone Research Center has a full analysis here.
State level payroll and unemployment numbers should always be viewed with some caution as monthly volatility can obscure trends. But it is clear that weakness in the national economy in the second quarter slowed job growth in Pennsylvania.
While the economy is still growing and adding jobs, the slower pace of job growth is quite troubling given that the labor market in Pennsylvania remains more than 240,000 jobs short of full employment.
