HARRISBURG, PA — With the release of the Pennsylvania December Employment Situation, Keystone Research Center economist Maisum Murtaza released the following statement:
“This morning, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry released its preliminary employment situation report for December 2025. While overall changes from the previous employment situation (November 2025) were relatively minor, the Pennsylvania data from the last few months echo the country-wide weakening of the labor market detailed by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). The unemployment rate in Pennsylvania is up to 4.2% in December 2025 compared with 3.7% in December of last year. In June 2025, Pennsylvania broke a streak of 30 months with unemployment rates below 4% (which began in December 2022).
“Black and Hispanic workers have experienced significant increases in their unemployment rates since 2024. The latest disaggregated data show that Hispanic workers in September 2025 experienced an unemployment rate of 8.9%, up from 6.7% in September 2024. Unemployment for Black workers in Pennsylvania increased from 5% in September 2024 to 7.2% in September 2025. The unemployment rate for U.S.-born workers jumped from 3.7% in December 2024 to 4.1% in December 2025, as this group too experienced a weakening job market.
“Distinct from national trends, Pennsylvania’s job growth remains somewhat positive, although it has slowed recently. From July 2025 to December 2025, Pennsylvania jobs increased by 27,300 compared to 45,200 during those same months in 2024.”