Pa. unemployment down, employment up in Feb.

PRESS DIRECT / AP: Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate continued its rapid drop in February, while employer payrolls inched up and the labor force grew after a 14-month skid, the state Department of Labor and Industry said Friday.

Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate fell two-tenths of a percentage point from 6.4 percent in January to 6.2 percent last month. That is down from 7.7 percent a year ago, a fall driven largely by the unemployed leaving the workforce.

Economists say not as many younger people are entering the workforce as more people retire, quit looking for work out of frustration or stop their job search for another reason. The jobless rate last dipped to 6.2 percent in 2008, as the recession took hold, while Pennsylvania hit a recessionary high of 8.7 … (more)

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