June joblessness for state was 4.7 percent, with 5.75 million positions in force.
Staff and wire reports | Employment levels in Pennsylvania hit a 16-year high in June, buoyed by gains in education and health services jobs, according to figures released by the state on Monday.
The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry said total nonfarm jobs hit 5.75 million last month. It's the highest level since collection of seasonally adjusted employment data began in 1990.
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Mobile News | Subscribe Online | Order Reprints ''It's encouraging because it's past the pre-recession peak,'' said Ryan Sweet, an associate economist with research firm Moody's Economy.com in West Chester, Chester County. ''It's at a historical high.''
Last month, the state added a seasonally adjusted 49,500 jobs — a growth rate of 0.9 percent from a year ago. Since mid-2004, the pace of job growth has been hovering at around 1 percent.
The Lehigh Valley has been a significant contributor to state job totals. In fact, the Valley over the past year has added jobs at more than twice the rate of Pennsylvania. In May, the Valley was home to 346,100 jobs, according to the most recent data from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. That's the highest ever and the fourth-straight month of record job totals. Notable categories of job growth were financial services, and professional and business services, both of which set record job totals in May.
Nationally, job growth was up 1.4 percent in June from the same month last year.
The state jobless rate hit 4.7 percent in June, the 12th month it has stayed at less than 5 percent.
Pennsylvania's education and health services sector gained 28,200 jobs in June while professional and business services employment rose by 13,900. Trade, transportation and utilities came in third, up 7,800 jobs. Manufacturing lost ground, down 13,100 jobs.
Sweet sees job growth slowing down for the rest of the year and into 2007, as the state economy gets hit by the same factors expected to affect the U.S. economy: A softening housing market will hurt construction jobs while higher interest rates will curb consumer spending and cut retail jobs.
''It's just going to be slower growth,'' said the economist, who follows the commonwealth's economy. However, ''we don't see Pennsylvania employment contracting.''
Within the state, job growth on a nonseasonally adjusted basis was strongest in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton area. Employment rose by 2 percent in June from last year.
Harrisburg-Carlisle and the Williamsport area tied for second, with the number of jobs rising by 1.7 percent to 333,900 and 54,100, respectively. Lebanon came next, up 1.6 percent to 49,500 jobs.
Among heavily populated regions, the Philadelphia area added 18,100 positions in June from a year ago, a growth rate of 0.9 percent, while Pittsburgh tacked on 9,200 jobs, or a pace of 0.8 percent.
Scranton-Wilkes Barre gained 3,600 jobs to 265,500 and Lancaster added 2,600 jobs to 240,600. Reading was up by 2,500 jobs for a total of 172,100. York-Hanover added 1,600 jobs to 178,800.
The Erie area was the only one showing a decline in jobs, down 1,300 to 133,700 for June.
