Jobless rate, jobs both show dip in Pittsburgh

The numbers seem to conflict: the unemployment rate in the Pittsburgh region improved by two-tenths of a percentage point in August even as the area lost 5,300 jobs from the previous month.

The Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses Allegheny and the six surrounding counties, had an overall unemployment rate of 8.2 percent for August, according to the state Department of Labor and Industry.

The seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was down from 8.4 percent in July and down more than half of a percentage point from the height of the economic downturn in February when unemployment hit 8.8 percent. August's unemployment rate brought the level back to where it was in December.

As for the job numbers, they are dropping, too. That is, in part, a function of the numbers coming from two different surveys: the unemployment rate is based on a survey of households, while the number of jobs in the region is based on a separate survey of businesses and government employers.

The second survey, which is not seasonally adjusted, showed that overall the number of jobs in the region fell by 5,300. Losses were seen in construction, which dropped 200 jobs in August, a month when that sector typically tends to be busy.

Lauren Nimal, an analyst for the state Department of Labor and Industry, noted the region lost 400 construction jobs in August 2009. "It's actually a little better than this time last year," she said.

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Both 2009 and 2010 are anomalies because, since 2004, the construction sector has gained an average of 500 jobs every August.

So why are both the unemployment rate and the number of jobs falling in the same month? The economy is still sort of stuck in neutral, said Mark Price, an economist for the Keystone Research Center in Harrisburg.

Mr. Price said some crazy numbers were thrown into the mix in the economy with the hirings and layoffs for the U.S. Census and an overall economy that is not growing fast enough to spur a real recovery.

"Looking at the last six or seven months of data," he said, "we're sort of treading water."

The Pittsburgh metropolitan statistical area's unemployment rate of 8.2 percent was below the state unemployment rate of 9.2 percent for August and well behind the nation, which saw a one-tenth of one percentage point increase to hit 9.6 percent for August.

First published on September 28, 2010 at 12:00 am