Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate fell slightly to 7.5 percent in May, the state announced this afternoon.
The state’s economy added 24,000 new jobs compared to April — the highest one-month gain since 1983. The number of people filing for unemployment claims also fell in May by 9,000 to 488,000.
May’s unemployment rate is more than half a percentage point below that in January, when the number climbed to 8.2 percent.
May’s number also marks the first time Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate has fallen below 7.6 percent since March 2009, near the start of the recession.
It has also fallen under the national average, which rose to 7.6 percent in May.