Unemployment rates in midstate declined in July

(Harrisburg)– New figures from the state Department of Labor and Industry show Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate holding steady in July at 5 percent. However, it remains above the national rate of 4.4 percent.

Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate has dropped by one-half percentage point over the past year. It saw larger declines in metro areas across the midstate.

The state Department of Labor and Industry, which tracks the numbers, says south-central Pennsylvania benefits from having a diverse economy.

In the Harrisburg Carlisle area, the unemployment rate was unchanged in July at 4.2 percent. However, over the past year it has fallen three-tenths of a percent. The Lancaster metro area jobless rate declined by the same amount over the past year, to 3.9 percent in July.

The Gettysburg metro area also saw its jobless rate drop to 3.6 percent last month– down half a percent compared to the same time period in 2016.

Among Pennsylvania’s 67 counties Cumberland, Adams, and Centre counties had the second-lowest unemployment rate at 3.6 percent.