Counties with the highest unemployment rate in Pennsylvania
Unemployment rates, while significantly lower than the alarming pandemic peak of 14.7% experienced in April 2020, remain a subject of concern, notably as economic experts bandy around the idea of a potential recession by 2023. The last economic recession—the Great Recession of 2008-2010—sent rates up to 10% as of October 2009. It was not until the spring of 2019 that unemployment finally went down to the same level it sits at now.
As of October of this year, national unemployment is at 3.7%, 0.2% higher than in September. Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates by state demonstrate a rather sizable spectrum, ranging from just 2.0% in Minnesota, to 4.5% in Illinois and 4.7% in the District of Columbia. Further breakdown by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows yet another county-based spectrum within each state.
To that end, Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rate in Pennsylvania using data from the BLS. Counties are ranked by unemployment rate in September 2022.
#50. Bradford County
--- 1 month change: -1.3%
--- 1 year change: -1.7%
- Total labor force: 27,685 (846 unemployed)
#49. Fulton County
--- 1 month change: -1.1%
--- 1 year change: -2.3%
- Total labor force: 7,026 (216 unemployed)
#48. Bedford County
--- 1 month change: -1.3%
--- 1 year change: -1.4%
- Total labor force: 23,737 (755 unemployed)
#47. Blair County
--- 1 month change: -1.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.9%
- Total labor force: 59,673 (1,926 unemployed)
#46. Dauphin County
--- 1 month change: -1.1%
--- 1 year change: -2.3%
- Total labor force: 148,727 (4,687 unemployed)
#45. Allegheny County
--- 1 month change: -1.2%
--- 1 year change: -2.0%
- Total labor force: 638,970 (20,780 unemployed)
#44. Columbia County
--- 1 month change: -1.4%
--- 1 year change: -1.6%
- Total labor force: 33,133 (1,108 unemployed)
#43. Northampton County
--- 1 month change: -1.1%
--- 1 year change: -2.0%
- Total labor force: 166,386 (5,454 unemployed)
#42. Westmoreland County
--- 1 month change: -1.6%
--- 1 year change: -2.0%
- Total labor force: 177,127 (5,837 unemployed)
#41. Delaware County
--- 1 month change: -1.2%
--- 1 year change: -2.1%
- Total labor force: 299,956 (10,341 unemployed)
#40. Jefferson County
--- 1 month change: -1.5%
--- 1 year change: -2.1%
- Total labor force: 19,550 (655 unemployed)
#39. Warren County
--- 1 month change: -1.5%
--- 1 year change: -2.1%
- Total labor force: 17,408 (591 unemployed)
#38. Berks County
--- 1 month change: -1.3%
--- 1 year change: -2.3%
- Total labor force: 211,080 (7,306 unemployed)
#37. Clarion County
--- 1 month change: -1.8%
--- 1 year change: -2.1%
- Total labor force: 16,878 (591 unemployed)
#36. Lehigh County
--- 1 month change: -1.3%
--- 1 year change: -2.4%
- Total labor force: 199,984 (7,085 unemployed)
#35. Washington County
--- 1 month change: -1.4%
--- 1 year change: -2.1%
- Total labor force: 105,700 (3,682 unemployed)
#34. Crawford County
--- 1 month change: -1.6%
--- 1 year change: -1.9%
- Total labor force: 37,422 (1,330 unemployed)
#33. Elk County
--- 1 month change: -1.9%
--- 1 year change: -2.3%
- Total labor force: 14,630 (527 unemployed)
#32. Lycoming County
--- 1 month change: -1.3%
--- 1 year change: -2.2%
- Total labor force: 54,767 (1,998 unemployed)
#31. Mifflin County
--- 1 month change: -1.3%
--- 1 year change: -1.6%
- Total labor force: 20,674 (742 unemployed)
#30. Armstrong County
--- 1 month change: -2.0%
--- 1 year change: -3.7%
- Total labor force: 31,260 (1,159 unemployed)
#29. Clinton County
--- 1 month change: -1.6%
--- 1 year change: -2.0%
- Total labor force: 17,196 (639 unemployed)
#28. Northumberland County
--- 1 month change: -1.5%
--- 1 year change: -2.2%
- Total labor force: 41,823 (1,565 unemployed)
#27. Tioga County
--- 1 month change: -1.6%
--- 1 year change: -1.7%
- Total labor force: 18,909 (691 unemployed)
#26. Wayne County
--- 1 month change: -1.1%
--- 1 year change: -1.7%
- Total labor force: 22,329 (833 unemployed)
#25. Wyoming County
--- 1 month change: -1.4%
--- 1 year change: -1.5%
- Total labor force: 13,395 (495 unemployed)
#24. Indiana County
--- 1 month change: -2.2%
--- 1 year change: -2.5%
- Total labor force: 36,930 (1,399 unemployed)
#23. Lackawanna County
--- 1 month change: -1.5%
--- 1 year change: -2.1%
- Total labor force: 104,655 (3,989 unemployed)
#22. Sullivan County
--- 1 month change: -1.8%
--- 1 year change: -2.1%
- Total labor force: 2,523 (96 unemployed)
#21. Venango County
--- 1 month change: -1.6%
--- 1 year change: -2.0%
- Total labor force: 21,112 (802 unemployed)
#20. Cambria County
--- 1 month change: -2.1%
--- 1 year change: -2.1%
- Total labor force: 55,512 (2,171 unemployed)
#19. Carbon County
--- 1 month change: -1.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.9%
- Total labor force: 32,834 (1,267 unemployed)
#18. Clearfield County
--- 1 month change: -1.6%
--- 1 year change: -1.9%
- Total labor force: 35,173 (1,387 unemployed)
#17. Erie County
--- 1 month change: -1.4%
--- 1 year change: -2.2%
- Total labor force: 126,773 (4,894 unemployed)
#16. Somerset County
--- 1 month change: -1.9%
--- 1 year change: -1.5%
- Total labor force: 31,932 (1,244 unemployed)
#15. Cameron County
--- 1 month change: -2.0%
--- 1 year change: -2.8%
- Total labor force: 1,954 (79 unemployed)
#14. Greene County
--- 1 month change: -2.0%
--- 1 year change: -2.2%
- Total labor force: 15,563 (624 unemployed)
#13. Huntingdon County
--- 1 month change: -1.6%
--- 1 year change: -1.6%
- Total labor force: 19,298 (778 unemployed)
#12. McKean County
--- 1 month change: -1.9%
--- 1 year change: -1.8%
- Total labor force: 16,648 (672 unemployed)
#11. Mercer County
--- 1 month change: -1.5%
--- 1 year change: -2.0%
- Total labor force: 47,071 (1,862 unemployed)
#10. Potter County
--- 1 month change: -1.6%
--- 1 year change: -1.3%
- Total labor force: 7,063 (279 unemployed)
#9. Schuylkill County
--- 1 month change: -1.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.9%
- Total labor force: 64,654 (2,573 unemployed)
#8. Lawrence County
--- 1 month change: -1.5%
--- 1 year change: -2.1%
- Total labor force: 39,372 (1,607 unemployed)
#7. Beaver County
--- 1 month change: -1.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.8%
- Total labor force: 82,761 (3,611 unemployed)
#6. Luzerne County
--- 1 month change: -1.5%
--- 1 year change: -2.7%
- Total labor force: 157,736 (7,129 unemployed)
#5. Fayette County
--- 1 month change: -2.1%
--- 1 year change: -2.9%
- Total labor force: 55,404 (2,589 unemployed)
#4. Forest County
--- 1 month change: -2.2%
--- 1 year change: -2.3%
- Total labor force: 1,698 (79 unemployed)
#3. Pike County
--- 1 month change: -1.2%
--- 1 year change: -1.6%
- Total labor force: 25,675 (1,224 unemployed)
#2. Monroe County
--- 1 month change: -1.6%
--- 1 year change: -2.1%
- Total labor force: 82,722 (4,056 unemployed)
#1. Philadelphia County
--- 1 month change: -1.5%
--- 1 year change: -3.2%
- Total labor force: 727,682 (35,666 unemployed)