Counties with the highest unemployment in Pennsylvania

The first jobs report under the new Trump administration showed a stable job market, with the unemployment rate ticking down from 4.1% to 4% in January, the lowest since last May, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics figures released Feb. 7.

The report marks 49 consecutive months of overall job growth, the second-longest recorded period since 1939.

Job losses that did occur were concentrated in the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction industries, which declined by 8,000 jobs over the month. There was little change in employment in other major industries.

To get a glimpse of regional variations in employment, Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rates Pennsylvania, using BLS data. Counties are ranked by their preliminary unemployment rate in December 2024, with initial ties broken by the number of unemployed people within that county, though some ties may remain. County-level unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted.

Key takeaways: Jobs report reveals cooling labor market

January's job growth of 143,000 fell short of expectations, while the downward revision of 589,000 fewer jobs in 2024 suggests the labor market was weaker last year than initially thought.

Business leaders are starting to display more caution, with 67% of executives reporting higher stress levels heading into 2025, according to a survey of 1,000 executives by Sentry, a business insurance company. Among survey respondents, 47% citing economic uncertainty as their biggest concern.

"We have what I would describe as a robust but frozen labor market," Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon, told The New York Times, noting that while unemployment remains low, there's very little churn or employee turnover as "businesses are being cautious as to how they manage their work force."

Moody's Analytics projects monthly payroll gains could slow to around 100,000 by year-end.

The big story: Potential for economic headwinds grows

Behind the "Now Hiring" signs and modest unemployment rate, there's growing concern on Main Street that the economy might be more fragile than it appears.

"You've already got companies hiring as if they're in a recession—even if they're not laying people off," Oliver Allen, senior U.S. economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, told CNN. Average unemployment duration, a lagging indicator, rose from 20.8 weeks in January 2024 to 22 in January of this year.

Tightening trade regulations and federal trimming could also have an impact on the job market. Experts predict the U.S. gross domestic product could take a hit due to increased tariffs. The U.S. government is the country's largest employer and contributes 36% to the GDP.

Sudden cuts to federal spending advocated by the new administration could hit the economy hard. One example of the potential fallout is that if prices were to increase further due to higher tariffs, consumer purchasing power would decline, stymieing economic growth.

Whether the effects of slashing the workforce and the budget will be exceeded by Trump's plans to loosen business regulations and cut taxes remains to be seen.

To get a better idea of your community's current economy, read on to see the counties with the highest unemployment in Pennsylvania.

50. Allegheny County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.2%
--- 1-month change: 0.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 621,862 people (19,958 unemployed)

45. Berks County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: -0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 210,058 people (6,978 unemployed)

45. Blair County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: +0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 58,134 people (1,900 unemployed)

45. Wyoming County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: +0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 13,358 people (444 unemployed)

45. Susquehanna County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: +0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 20,116 people (664 unemployed)

45. Lehigh County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: -0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 197,441 people (6,573 unemployed)

42. Columbia County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
--- 1-month change: +0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 34,033 people (1,164 unemployed)

42. Washington County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
--- 1-month change: +0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 102,777 people (3,466 unemployed)

42. Westmoreland County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
--- 1-month change: +0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 172,615 people (5,946 unemployed)

39. Bradford County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.5%
--- 1-month change: +0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 27,900 people (980 unemployed)

39. Carbon County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.5%
--- 1-month change: +0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 32,390 people (1,140 unemployed)

39. Lackawanna County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.5%
--- 1-month change: +0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 104,620 people (3,676 unemployed)

36. Fulton County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.6%
--- 1-month change: +0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,138 people (259 unemployed)

36. Mercer County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.6%
--- 1-month change: +0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 46,083 people (1,661 unemployed)

36. Greene County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.6%
--- 1-month change: +0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 14,997 people (546 unemployed)

32. Crawford County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.7%
--- 1-month change: +0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 36,234 people (1,352 unemployed)

32. Lycoming County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.7%
--- 1-month change: +0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 54,756 people (2,011 unemployed)

32. Mifflin County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.7%
--- 1-month change: +0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 20,659 people (768 unemployed)

32. Beaver County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.7%
--- 1-month change: +0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 80,007 people (2,925 unemployed)

27. Warren County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
--- 1-month change: +0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 16,440 people (621 unemployed)

27. Bedford County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
--- 1-month change: +0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 23,969 people (899 unemployed)

27. Wayne County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
--- 1-month change: +0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 22,200 people (850 unemployed)

27. Schuylkill County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
--- 1-month change: +0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 63,717 people (2,397 unemployed)

27. Venango County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
--- 1-month change: +0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 19,807 people (757 unemployed)

23. Snyder County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
--- 1-month change: +1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 19,232 people (741 unemployed)

23. Monroe County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
--- 1-month change: 0.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 80,396 people (3,134 unemployed)

23. Indiana County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
--- 1-month change: +0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 35,580 people (1,383 unemployed)

23. Tioga County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
--- 1-month change: +0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 18,116 people (715 unemployed)

19. Luzerne County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 4%
--- 1-month change: +0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 157,367 people (6,372 unemployed)

19. Erie County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 4%
--- 1-month change: +0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 123,662 people (4,930 unemployed)

19. Northumberland County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 4%
--- 1-month change: +0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 41,133 people (1,659 unemployed)

19. Jefferson County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 4%
--- 1-month change: +0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 18,427 people (731 unemployed)

16. Cambria County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.1%
--- 1-month change: +0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 53,911 people (2,196 unemployed)

16. McKean County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.1%
--- 1-month change: +0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 16,096 people (664 unemployed)

16. Clarion County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.1%
--- 1-month change: +0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 15,150 people (619 unemployed)

15. Juniata County

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.2%
--- 1-month change: +1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 12,194 people (513 unemployed)

12. Sullivan County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.3%
--- 1-month change: +0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,515 people (107 unemployed)

12. Pike County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.3%
--- 1-month change: +0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 25,388 people (1,094 unemployed)

12. Armstrong County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.3%
--- 1-month change: +0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 30,617 people (1,313 unemployed)

9. Somerset County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.4%
--- 1-month change: +0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 31,513 people (1,376 unemployed)

9. Philadelphia County/city (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.4%
--- 1-month change: 0.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 735,317 people (32,078 unemployed)

9. Clearfield County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.4%
--- 1-month change: +0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 34,161 people (1,513 unemployed)

7. Lawrence County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.5%
--- 1-month change: +0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 37,604 people (1,699 unemployed)

7. Elk County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.5%
--- 1-month change: +0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 13,676 people (618 unemployed)

5. Clinton County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.7%
--- 1-month change: +1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 17,129 people (806 unemployed)

5. Huntingdon County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.7%
--- 1-month change: +0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 18,928 people (897 unemployed)

4. Fayette County

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.8%
--- 1-month change: +0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 54,022 people (2,604 unemployed)

3. Potter County

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.9%
--- 1-month change: +1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,592 people (320 unemployed)

2. Forest County

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.7%
--- 1-month change: +0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,609 people (91 unemployed)

1. Cameron County

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.5%
--- 1-month change: +1.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,809 people (117 unemployed)

This story features data reporting by Karim Noorani, writing by Ben Popken, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 50 states.