Clinton County unemployment rate increases for first time since last April

HARRISBURG, PA – Clinton County’s unemployment rate increased during the month of January, according to information released Friday by the state Department of Labor & Industry.

The January rate rose to 7.3%, up from the 6.6% reading in December. According to the state, January had an estimated 1,300 county residents without a job, about 100 more than the December number. The increase is the first one for the county since a pandemic high of 16.6% in April 2020. The rate had gone down for eight straight months.

Clinton County’s January rate of 7.3% was no. 23 out of the state’s 67 counties. Chester County was no. 1 at 5% and Philadelphia was no. 67 at 11.1%. Other regional unemployment rates included Cameron County 9.2%, Centre County 5.7%, Lycoming County 7.6%, Potter County 7.5%, Tioga County 7.7%, Clearfield County 8.0%, and Union County 5.8%. The overall Pennsylvania unemployment rate for January was 7.3%.

“To have an increase in January is not unusual, but the Clinton County unemployment rate for January 2020 was almost two points lower than the number recorded in January 2021,” said Clinton County Economic Partnership President Mike Flanagan. “We have more than a handful of businesses seeking employees, but we also have the extended benefits in play. The increase from December to January is not surprising since our weekly continued unemployment claims continued to increase during January and into February. We will have to see how things play out once we get into the spring and summer.”