JULY 2010, Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton edition of The Union News

Lehigh Valley unemployment rate at 9.7 percent

BY PAUL LEESON
THEUNIONNEWSABE@AOL.COM

REGION, June 14th- According to labor data provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, Center for Workforce Information and Analysis in Harrisburg, the Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 9.7 percent, decreasing by one-tenth of a percentage point from the previous month. The MSA includes Lehigh, Northampton, and Carbon Counties of Pennsylvania and Warren County, New Jersey. Twelve months ago the unemployment rate for the region was 8.2 percent.

There are fourteen Metropolitan Statistical Area’s in Pennsylvania and the Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton Metropolitan Statistical Area is tied with the Johnstown MSA for the third highest unemployment rate. The only region’s with a higher unemployment rate than the Lehigh Valley is the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton MSA at 10.0 percent and the Erie MSA at 9.9 percent.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Pennsylvania is 9.0 percent, unchanged from the previous report, which was released approximately four weeks ago. There are 584,000 Pennsylvania residents without jobs, but the number does not include residents that have exhausted their unemployment benefits and stopped looking for work.

Pennsylvania has a seasonally adjusted workforce of 6,470,000 and 5,886,000 of them have employment. The national seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was reported to be 9.9 percent, increasing by two-tenths of a percentage point from the previous report.

There are 15,260,000 residents nationally unemployed but counting workers who benefits have been exhausted or unable to find full-time work there are more than 20 million Americans without jobs.

The data shows the Reading MSA has the fourth highest unemployment rate in the state at 9.6 percent with the Williamsport MSA the fifth highest at 9.4 percent.

The State College MSA has the lowest unemployment rate in Pennsylvania at 6.6 percent, with the Lebanon MSA the second lowest at 7.6 percent and the Altoona MSA and Lancaster MSA are tied for the third lowest unemployment rate in Pennsylvania at 7.9 percent.

The Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton MSA has the third largest civilian labor force in Pennsylvania at 426,500, rising by 3,400 during the past twelve months. There are 41,600 residents in the MSA without jobs, rising by 6,800 during the past twelve months. Those numbers also does not include workers who have exhausted their benefits.

The Philadelphia MSA has the largest civilian labor force in Pennsylvania at 2,998,400 with 280,300 residents not working. The Pittsburgh MSA has the second largest civilian labor force at 1,234,900, with 104,500 residents unemployed. The Harrisburg/Carlisle MSA has the fourth largest civilian labor force in the state at 287,200, with 23,300 residents unemployed. The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre MSA has the fifth largest civilian labor force at 286,700 with 28,500 residents not working.

Carbon County has the highest unemployment rate in the MSA at 11.1 percent. Northampton County has the lowest rate at 9.5 percent and Lehigh County’s unemployment rate is 9.8 percent.