Pa. employers shed 16,000 jobs in Feb.; jobless rate rises to 8.9 pct, highest point since ‘84
By APFriday, March 19, 2010
Pa. jobless rate highest since 1984; 16K jobs shed
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania employers continued to reduce payrolls last month as the state’s unemployment rate rose slightly to its highest point in a quarter century.
The state Labor and Industry Department said Thursday that employers shed another 16,000 jobs in February. That brings the number of jobs lost since the recession began in December 2007 to 260,000, or one in 22.
The department also says the unemployment rate rose from 8.8 percent to 8.9 percent in February, the highest in 25 years. The department initially reported the jobless rate to be 8.9 percent in October, then later revised it downward to 8.6 percent.
Still, Pennsylvania’s rate remains below the national jobless rate of 9.7 percent.
