PA Unemployment Rate at 3.9% in April

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) today released its preliminary employment situation report for April 2025.

 

Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate increased by one-tenth of a percentage point over the month to 3.9 percent in April. The Commonwealth’s rate remained below the U.S. unemployment rate which was unchanged over the month at 4.2 percent.

 

The Commonwealth’s unemployment rate was three-tenths of a percentage point above the April 2024 level of 3.6 percent, mirroring the US rate increase from last April.

 

Pennsylvania’s civilian labor force – the estimated number of residents working or looking for work – was up 6,000 over the month to 6,548,000 in April. Both employment (+2,000) and resident unemployment (+4,000) were up from March.

 

Pennsylvania’s total nonfarm jobs were up 8,500 over the month to 6,223,800 in April, the 12^th consecutive record high. Jobs increased from March in six of the 11 industry supersectors. The largest movement was in education & health services, which added 5,000 jobs over the month. Education & health services, leisure & hospitality, and other services rose to record high levels in April.

 

Over the year, jobs were up 95,700 with gains in seven of the 11 supersectors. Education & health services (+50,900) had the largest volume increase since April 2024.

 

Additional information is available on the L&I website at www.dli.pa.gov or by following us on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn.

 

Note: The above data are seasonally adjusted. Seasonally adjusted data provide the most valid month-to-month comparison. April 2025 data are preliminary and subject to revision.

 

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Current Labor Force Statistics
Seasonally Adjusted
(in thousands)
				Change from		Change from
	April	March	April	March 2025		April 2024
	2025	2025	2024	volume	percent	volume	percent
PA
Civilian Labor Force	6,548	6,542	6,602	6	0.1%	-54	-0.8%
Employment	6,293	6,291	6,365	2	0.0%	-72	-1.1%
Unemployment	256	252	237	4	1.6%	19	8.0%
Rate	3.9	3.8	3.6	0.1	—-	0.3	—-
U.S.
Civilian Labor Force	171,109	170,591	167,988	518	0.3%	3,121	1.9%
Employment	163,944	163,508	161,495	436	0.3%	2,449	1.5%
Unemployment	7,165	7,083	6,492	82	1.2%	673	10.4%
Rate	4.2	4.2	3.9	0.0	—-	0.3	—-
Note: May 2025 labor force and nonfarm jobs statistics will be released on June 20th, 2025.

 

Pennsylvania Nonagricultural Wage and Salary Employment
Seasonally Adjusted
(in thousands)
				Change from		Change from
	April	March	April	March 2025		April 2024
	2025	2025	2024	volume	percent	volume	percent
Total Nonfarm Jobs	6,223.8	6,215.3	6,128.1	8.5	0.1%	95.7	1.6%
Goods Producing Industries	841.7	844.2	844.2	-2.5	-0.3%	-2.5	-0.3%
Mining & Logging	21.6	22.0	21.8	-0.4	-1.8%	-0.2	-0.9%
Construction	258.7	260.5	258.9	-1.8	-0.7%	-0.2	-0.1%
Manufacturing	561.4	561.7	563.5	-0.3	-0.1%	-2.1	-0.4%
Service Providing Industries	5,382.1	5,371.1	5,283.9	11.0	0.2%	98.2	1.9%
Trade, Transportation & Utilities	1,143.9	1,142.8	1,138.5	1.1	0.1%	5.4	0.5%
Information	89.1	89.4	91.4	-0.3	-0.3%	-2.3	-2.5%
Financial Activities	341.1	340.1	340.0	1.0	0.3%	1.1	0.3%
Professional & Business Services	844.1	843.1	836.1	1.0	0.1%	8.0	1.0%
Education & Health Services	1,404.1	1,399.1	1,353.2	5.0	0.4%	50.9	3.8%
Leisure & Hospitality	583.5	580.8	567.6	2.7	0.5%	15.9	2.8%
Other Services	270.6	269.9	259.9	0.7	0.3%	10.7	4.1%
Government	705.7	705.9	697.2	-0.2	0.0%	8.5	1.2%
For a more detailed breakdown of seasonally adjusted jobs data at the sector level, please contact the Center for Workforce Information & Analysis at 1-877-4WF-DATA, or visit www.paworkstats.pa.gov