Counties with the highest unemployment in Pennsylvania

The first jobs report fully under the new Trump administration showed a softening job market, with the unemployment rate ticking up to 4.1% in February, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics figures released March 7.

Job growth increased but fell below expectations, one of several possible fissures appearing in the once rock-solid labor market. Businesses are pulling back on hiring as the economic forecast and policy outlook grow murkier due to volatile trade policies and large cuts to the federal workforce.

Federal government employment fell by 10,000 in February, pushing up total cuts to the federal workforce. In the first two months of 2025, 62,530 federal workers were let go. However, the most recent cuts, including the Department of Education's workforce getting slashed by nearly half, have not yet appeared in official jobs data. Retail employment also fell by 6,000.

The broader unemployment index, known as the U-6, which also includes laborers working part-time because they can't find full-time work, and those who want to work but have given up searching, rose to 8%, its highest since October 2021.

To get a glimpse of regional variations in employment, Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rates in Pennsylvania, using BLS data. Counties are ranked by their preliminary unemployment rate in January 2025, 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 shows softening labor market

February's job growth of 151,000 fell below economists' expected gains of 160,000, showing the labor market is cooling faster than predicted. Experts say many companies weighing policy changes and economic uncertainty are deciding it's safer to hold off on hiring decisions for now.

"If you were a company and you were saying, 'I'm looking to expand, or I'm looking to hire,' you would have investors in those companies saying, 'Are you crazy?'" Ron Hetrick, senior labor economist at Lightcast, told Marketplace.

Consumer spending fell in January for the first time in two years, which may have led to layoffs or hiring slowdowns, Nela Richardson, ADP's chief economist, told NBC News.

The big story: From bold promises to frozen labor market

After an initial market pop following Trump's electoral win, indexes have slumped to below when he took office, and uncertainty about the future of the markets is a common theme. Are threatened tariffs in place, delayed, reversed, or ramped up? Has that federal worker been fired or given their job back? Are those federal dollars slashed or reinstated? It's a question mark that changes daily.

Research shows that uncertainty invites lower investment, slows employment, and increases financial market volatility. The word "uncertain" showed up 47 times in the March edition of the Beige Book, the Federal Reserve's snapshot of reports from across the nation, compared to 17 times in the previous report from January.

The new administration's blitz of executive orders and trade policy waffling have cast a dense fog over the short-term economic outlook. One thing that is known? Uncertainty isn't good for business planning, job creation, or hiring.

In a March 12 interview with Semafor, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon noted that average consumers likely don't change "what they're going to do because they read about tariffs," but "companies might."

"Uncertainty is not a good thing," Dimon added.

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

50. Berks County

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.2%
--- 1-month change: +0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 216,722 people (9,114 unemployed)

48. Northampton County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.3%
--- 1-month change: +1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 164,779 people (7,095 unemployed)

48. Blair County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.3%
--- 1-month change: +1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 57,113 people (2,457 unemployed)

45. Mifflin County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.4%
--- 1-month change: +0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: 0.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 23,545 people (1,041 unemployed)

45. Fulton County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.4%
--- 1-month change: +0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,038 people (308 unemployed)

45. Lehigh County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.4%
--- 1-month change: +1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 192,294 people (8,405 unemployed)

42. Elk County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.5%
--- 1-month change: +0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 14,468 people (655 unemployed)

42. Washington County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.5%
--- 1-month change: +1.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 103,740 people (4,649 unemployed)

42. Snyder County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.5%
--- 1-month change: +0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 19,020 people (851 unemployed)

37. Crawford County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.6%
--- 1-month change: +0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 36,768 people (1,698 unemployed)

37. Westmoreland County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.6%
--- 1-month change: +1.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 173,276 people (7,985 unemployed)

37. Bradford County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.6%
--- 1-month change: +1.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 26,348 people (1,214 unemployed)

37. Carbon County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.6%
--- 1-month change: +1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 32,166 people (1,470 unemployed)

37. Schuylkill County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.6%
--- 1-month change: +0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 66,691 people (3,042 unemployed)

34. Lackawanna County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.7%
--- 1-month change: +1.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 104,829 people (4,919 unemployed)

34. Warren County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.7%
--- 1-month change: +1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 15,945 people (757 unemployed)

34. Monroe County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.7%
--- 1-month change: +0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 82,828 people (3,907 unemployed)

30. Clarion County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.8%
--- 1-month change: +0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 15,959 people (768 unemployed)

30. Erie County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.8%
--- 1-month change: +0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 125,445 people (5,984 unemployed)

30. Venango County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.8%
--- 1-month change: +1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 20,388 people (985 unemployed)

30. McKean County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.8%
--- 1-month change: +0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: 0.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 16,810 people (812 unemployed)

28. Beaver County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.9%
--- 1-month change: +1.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 81,771 people (3,967 unemployed)

28. Mercer County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.9%
--- 1-month change: +1.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 45,678 people (2,225 unemployed)

27. Lycoming County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5%
--- 1-month change: +1.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 52,877 people (2,635 unemployed)

25. Philadelphia County/city (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.1%
--- 1-month change: +0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 777,961 people (39,310 unemployed)

25. Northumberland County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.1%
--- 1-month change: +1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 42,561 people (2,169 unemployed)

18. Cambria County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.2%
--- 1-month change: +1.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 55,727 people (2,879 unemployed)

18. Pike County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.2%
--- 1-month change: +1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: 0.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 28,375 people (1,463 unemployed)

18. Jefferson County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.2%
--- 1-month change: +1.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 18,927 people (990 unemployed)

18. Wyoming County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.2%
--- 1-month change: +1.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 12,436 people (646 unemployed)

18. Tioga County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.2%
--- 1-month change: +1.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 17,628 people (920 unemployed)

18. Greene County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.2%
--- 1-month change: +1.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 13,493 people (706 unemployed)

18. Bedford County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.2%
--- 1-month change: +1.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 22,928 people (1,186 unemployed)

14. Luzerne County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.3%
--- 1-month change: +1.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 160,262 people (8,426 unemployed)

14. Clearfield County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.3%
--- 1-month change: +1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 35,008 people (1,858 unemployed)

14. Sullivan County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.3%
--- 1-month change: +1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,644 people (141 unemployed)

14. Susquehanna County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.3%
--- 1-month change: +2.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 17,433 people (925 unemployed)

13. Columbia County

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.4%
--- 1-month change: +2.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 30,809 people (1,654 unemployed)

11. Somerset County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.5%
--- 1-month change: +1.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 32,700 people (1,787 unemployed)

11. Wayne County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.5%
--- 1-month change: +1.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 21,722 people (1,195 unemployed)

10. Indiana County

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.6%
--- 1-month change: +1.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 34,585 people (1,926 unemployed)

8. Clinton County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.9%
--- 1-month change: +1.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 17,194 people (1,014 unemployed)

8. Armstrong County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.9%
--- 1-month change: +1.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 30,235 people (1,775 unemployed)

7. Lawrence County

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.1%
--- 1-month change: +1.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 39,207 people (2,394 unemployed)

6. Huntingdon County

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.2%
--- 1-month change: +1.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 18,776 people (1,173 unemployed)

3. Fayette County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.4%
--- 1-month change: +1.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 53,714 people (3,432 unemployed)

3. Potter County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.4%
--- 1-month change: +1.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,338 people (407 unemployed)

3. Juniata County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.4%
--- 1-month change: +2.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +2.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 11,601 people (738 unemployed)

2. Cameron County

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.8%
--- 1-month change: +0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,703 people (116 unemployed)

1. Forest County

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.9%
--- 1-month change: +2.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,490 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.