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Pa. unemployment rate remains under national average, sets record high for nonfarm jobs
Ed Gruver//June 18, 2026
Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate remained at 4.2% and below the national average. JUSTSTOCK/GETTY IMAGES
Pa. unemployment rate remains under national average, sets record high for nonfarm jobs
Ed Gruver//June 18, 2026//
Listen to this articlePennsylvania’s unemployment rate remains under the national average, and a record high was set for nonfarm jobs in the commonwealth.
The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry released its preliminary employment situation report Thursday for May 2026, revealing that the commonwealth’s unemployment rate remained at 4.2% for the fourth straight month. Pennsylvania‘s rate remained one-tenth of a percentage point below the U.S. unemployment rate of 4.3%. The U.S. rate remains unchanged over the past 12 months.
Pennsylvania’s civilian labor force, which is the estimated number of residents working or looking for work, increased by 19,000 over the month to a record high of 6,626,000 in May. Employment accounted for the bulk of the gain while unemployment was little changed over the month.
Pennsylvania’s total nonfarm jobs increased by 9,000 over the month to a record high of 6,209,500 in May. Jobs increased in seven of the 11 industry supersectors. Education & health services had the largest gain at 4,300 and reached a record high, while the largest decrease was in construction, which declined by 1,700.
Over the year, jobs are up 36,200 with gains in six of the 11 supersectors. The largest volume gain from last May was in education & health services, which increased by 37,200.
