Pa. Labor Force Falls Biggest Amount In 30 Years
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The size of Pennsylvania's labor force shrank in March by the biggest one-month amount in almost three decades, as unemployment and payrolls also fell.
The Department of Labor and Industry said Friday the state's unemployment rate dropped to 7.9 percent in March, down from 8.1 percent in February.
The national unemployment rate was 7.6 percent in March.
A survey of households showed the number of people working or looking for work fell in March by 33,000 to just above 6.5 million. That's the largest one-month drop since 1983.
Total employment dipped by 14,000 while total unemployment dropped by 19,000.
Payrolls also shrank by about 6,000 to about 5.74 million. Payrolls hit a record above 5.8 million in April 2008, but shrank to below 5.6 million amid the recession's effects.
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