The Schuylkill County unemployment rate dropped to 4.9% in March 2019.
That rate represents a 0.4% drop in the unemployment rate compared to February of this year.
It’s off the 12-month low of 4.5% achieved by Schuylkill County in November 2018. In the last year, the highest the unemployment rate reached is 5.6% in August 2018.
Schuylkill County Unemployment Rate, March 2019
Here’s a look at the 12-month breakdown of the Schuylkill County unemployment rate. These numbers are sorted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. They were last updated on May 1, 2019:
Schuylkill County Unemployment Rate (Last 12 Months)
| Month | Schuylkill Unemployment % |
|---|---|
| March 2019 | 4.9 |
| February 2019 | 5.3 |
| January 2019 | 5.3 |
| December 2018 | 4.8 |
| November 2018 | 4.5 |
| October 2018 | 4.6 |
| September 2018 | 4.7 |
| August 2018 | 5.6 |
| July 2018 | 5.4 |
| June 2018 | 5.4 |
| May 2018 | 4.6 |
| April 2018 | 4.8 |
Although the unemployment rate in Schuylkill County is trending down (in a positive way), it’s still a full percentage point above the Pennsylvania unemployment rate. And the U.S. rate continues to reach record lows.
According to AP today, the national unemployment rate hit another 50-year low, 3.6%. However, the rate may be misleading a tad as it accounts for a record number of people leaving the workforce.
Unemployment Rate Surrounding Schuylkill County - March 2019
| County | Unemployment Rate (March 2019) |
|---|---|
| Schuylkill | 4.9 |
| Luzerne | 5.2 |
| Columbia | 4.4 |
| Northumberland | 5.4 |
| Dauphin | 3.4 |
| Lebanon | 3.4 |
| Berks | 3.8 |
| Lehigh | 4.1 |
| Carbon | 5.2 |
Although the unemployment rate in Schuylkill County is dropping a bit, ours is still higher than many of the counties surrounding us. The table above shows the March 2019 unemployment rate for the 8 counties surrounding Schuylkill.
The highest is in Northumberland County, with 5.4% unemployment. The lowest rates are in Dauphin and Lebanon counties, each a half-percent below the state rate, at 3.4%. Berks County is also below the state unemployment rate, at 3.8%.
The more you go into the coal region, as you can see, the higher the unemployment rates get. Luzerne and Carbon counties also have above 5% unemployment.
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