New Unemployment Info Out for Clinton County

HARRISBURG, PA – There is mixed employment news for Clinton County workers according to information released Friday by the state Department of Labor & Industry.

The county’s first-time unemployment claims, as of the week ending Nov. 14, climbed to 98 people, up from 81 the week before, and the highest initial claim number in weeks. According to Mike Flanagan, President/CEO of the Clinton County Economic Partnership, part of the claims may be seasonal workers, since 30 percent are listed in the construction field, and 68 percent are male. The continued claims number fell to 793, down from the 928 listed for the week ending Nov. 7. Of the 793, 51 percent were female, and the manufacturing and food/accommodations fields accounted for 16 percent each of the on-going claims.

The county monthly unemployment data for October should be released by the state on or around Dec. 1. The September rate was 7.4 percent, the lowest since the pandemic began, and down from a yearly high of 16.6 percent in April.

Meanwhile the state announced new statewide figures on Friday: Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was down 1.0 percentage point over the month to 7.3 percent in October. The national rate also fell one percentage point from its September level to 6.9 percent. The commonwealth’s unemployment rate was 2.7 percentage points above the October 2019 level while the national rate was up 3.3 points over the year.

Pennsylvania’s civilian labor force decreased 75,000 over the month due to declines in both employment (the number of residents working) and unemployment (those who are jobless and looking for work).