PA unemployment rate rises to 4.2%, remains below national average

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) released its preliminary employment situation report for November 2025 on Wednesday. The delay in data is the direct result of the federal government shutdown that began October 1, 2025. Because of the federal government shutdown, October labor force data is not available.

Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate rose to 4.2 percent in November, up one-tenth of a percentage point from September. The U.S. unemployment rate of 4.6 percent was up two-tenths of a point over the same time period.

The Commonwealth’s unemployment rate was one-half of a percentage point above the November 2024 level of 3.7 percent, while the U.S. rate was up four-tenths of a point from last November.

Pennsylvania’s civilian labor force — the estimated number of residents working or looking for work — was up 20,000 over two months to 6,551,000 in November. Employment was up 13,000 from September while unemployment rose 7,000.

Pennsylvania’s total nonfarm jobs were up 3,500 over the month to 6,258,300 in November, the 19th consecutive month at a record high. Jobs increased from October in five of the 11 industry supersectors. The largest volume movement was in education & health services, up 2,700 over the month to a record high. Financial activities and leisure & hospitality also set record highs in November. Over the year, jobs were up 97,600 with gains in nine of the 11 supersectors.

Additional information is available on the L&I website at www.dli.pa.gov or by following us on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn.

Steve Ulrich is managing editor of Politics PA where this article originally appeared.