The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry recently released regional unemployment data for February.
Greater Philadelphia
Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties are part of the Philadelphia Metropolitan Statistical Area, or MSA, which includes Philadelphia and its surrounding counties in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.
The adjusted unemployment rate for the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington MSA dropped by 0.1% from January to 3.6% in February, according to the Labor & Industry report on Tuesday. In February, the rate was 3.6%, which was 0.3% lower than the same period in 2023, when it was 3.9%.
The area saw mostly stable unemployment levels in February, with continued improvement compared to the previous year.
In February, Chester County had a 2.5% unemployment rate, up by 0.2% from January and down by 0.7% from February 2023.
Montgomery County's unemployment rate for February remained at 2.6% compared to January, and dropped by 0.7% from February 2023.
Delaware County had a 3% unemployment rate in February, down by 0.1% from January, and down by 0.8% from February 2023.
The total nonfarm jobs in the Philadelphia MSA went up by 2,300 from January to reach a record high of 3,097,400 in February.
Berks, included in the Reading MSA, had a 3.4% unemployment rate in February, down by 0.1% from January. This was a 0.7% drop from the same period in 2023, when the rate was 4.1%.
In the Reading MSA, total nonfarm jobs went up by 0.1%, reaching 180,100 in February, which was an increase of 200 from January.
Pennsylvania numbers
The unemployment rate for Pennsylvania remained at 3.4% in February, as reported by Labor & Industry. This was the same rate as the previous five months. Pennsylvania's unemployment rate was 0.3% lower than the rate in February 2023, which was 3.7%.
Pennsylvania's total nonfarm jobs increased by 5,800 in February, reaching a record high of 6,131,700. This marked the seventh consecutive month of record high nonfarm job count for Pennsylvania. Compared to February 2023, there were 71,000 more nonfarm jobs, according to Labor & Industry.
Across the state
Out of Pennsylvania's 67 counties, Chester County had the third lowest unemployment rate in February, tying with Adams County.
Montgomery County had the fifth lowest unemployment rate in February, tying with Centre, Cumberland and Lancaster counties.
Delaware County had the 18th lowest unemployment rate in February, tying with Allegheny, Blair, Dauphin and York counties.
Berks County had the 33rd lowest unemployment rate in February, tying with Armstrong, Carbon, Elk, Greene, Lycoming and Tioga counties.
The Department of Labor & Industry will release Pennsylvania's unemployment data for March on April 19, and specific county and municipal data will be released on April 30.
The area saw consistent or small drops in unemployment rates in February, and ongoing progress compared to the previous year.
