Pa.’s unemployment rate drops to record low of 4 percent

Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate dropped to 4 percent in October, according to state data released on Friday.

The October 2022 rate is a record low unemployment rate for Pennsylvania.

“With Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate dipping to 4.0 percent for the first time, this is a historic opportunity to reflect on the critical value of each and every worker in the commonwealth,” Department of Labor & Industry Secretary Jennifer Berrier said in a statement. “Individually, we work to follow our passions and support our families. Collectively, Pennsylvania workers are the engine of a world-class economy.”

The commonwealth’s October 2022 unemployment rate is 1.6 percentage points below its October 2021 unemployment rate, state data showed.

Nationally, the unemployment rate was up two-tenths of a ​percentage point over the month to 3.7 percent.

In Pennsylvania, non-farm jobs were up 10,400 over the month to 6,009,500 in October.

The department said the state has recovered approximately 92 percent of jobs lost in the first two months of the pandemic.