Pa.’s latest jobs report indicates more people are joining workforce

November was the fourth straight month that saw the employment and unemployment rates rising in tandem.

• Katie Meyer/WITF
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  Katie Meyer was WITF’s Capitol Bureau Chief from 2016-2020. While at WITF, she covered all things state politics for public radio stations throughout Pennsylvania. Katie came to Harrisburg by way of New York City, where she worked at Fordham University’s public radio station, WFUV, as an anchor, general assignment reporter, and co-host of an original podcast. A 2016 graduate of Fordham, she earned several awards for her work at WFUV, including four 2016 Gracies.
  
  Katie is a native New Yorker, though she originally hails from Troy, a little farther up the Hudson River. She can attest that the bagels are still pretty good there.
  
  WITF's Capitol Bureau Chief Desk is partially funded through generous gifts made in the memory of Tony May through the Anthony J. May Memorial Fund.
  
  For more information about Tony May, click here.

 Jetta Productions Inc./Getty Images / NPR

The long economic recovery has brought unemployment to historic lows.

(Harrisburg) — Pennsylvania’s jobless rate has risen slightly, even as unemployment nationwide has gone down.

The numbers come from the state Department of Labor and Industry’s latest jobs report.

Earlier this year, Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate hit its lowest-ever level, dipping below 4 percent for several months in the spring and summer.

It’s up a bit now—the latest numbers, from November, have it hovering at 4.3 percent, a tenth of a percentage point higher than October.

Meanwhile, the national rate is 3.5 percent—down a tenth of a percent from October.

The state’s Labor and Industry Department said Pennsylvania’s civilian labor force rose by 18,000 people over the month—the fourth straight month in which employment and unemployment both increased.

The department says that likely means more people are entering the workforce.

The number of jobs in the commonwealth are up as well, to a record-high 6,534,000.

A collection of interviews, photos, and music videos, featuring local musicians who have stopped by the WITF performance studio to share a little discussion and sound. Produced by WITF’s Joe Ulrich.

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