Pa. jobless rate continues dropping in April as more find work, although payrolls remain flat

HARRISBURG, Pa. — The unemployment rate in Pennsylvania dropped slightly last month as more people found work, but the overall size of payrolls remained relatively flat.

The state Department of Labor and Industry said Thursday that the unemployment rate stood at 7.4 percent in April, down from 7.5 percent in March.

The national unemployment rate was 8.1 percent in April.

Meanwhile, the agency estimated that the number of nonfarm jobs fell by 600, leaving the total at just below 5.73 million. Resident employment was up 27,000, for a total slightly above 5.95 million.

Pennsylvania payrolls dropped below 5.6 million after the recession began in December 2007 and remains below the peak of 5.8 million jobs in 2008.

^{Content enhanced with OpenCalais.}