September’s unemployment rate for the region was headed in the right direction, as it is down in each local county.
On Tuesday, the state Department of Labor and Industry Center for Workforce Information and Analysis showed about a two percentage point improvement in McKean, Elk and Potter counties.
According to the data, in Bradford, which is the data given for McKean County, the September rate was 8.1%, down from 10.2% the prior month. In Elk County, the rate was 9.9%, down from 12.9% in August. Potter County’s September rate was 8.6%, down from 10.2% in August.
There was less of an improvement, but an improvement nonetheless, in Cameron County, with 12.1% in September, down from 12.9% one month earlier.
McKean County is ranked 38th in the state for its unemployment rate, tied with Carbon and Cambria counties. Potter County is ranked 51, while Elk is ranked 61 and Cameron is ranked 67. The best unemployment rate in the state is in Centre and Montour counties, which are tied for first place at 5%.
The statewide rate is 8.1%, while the national rate is 7.9%.
For the week ending Oct. 17, there were 40 initial claims for unemployment filed in McKean County. Of that, 30% were in the construction industry and 20% in manufacturing. There were 699 continued claims at that same time. Of those, 17.5% were in the health care and social assistance sector, 16.6% in manufacturing and 11.6% in accommodation and food services.
For the rest of the local region, manufacturing seemed to take the biggest hit.
In Elk County, there were 75 initial unemployment claims for the week ending Oct. 17, 60% of which were in the manufacturing sector. There were 1,117 continued claims, 57.6% of which were also in manufacturing.
In Potter County, there were 32 initial claims for that same time frame, 28.1% of which were in manufacturing. There were 309 continued claims, with 13.6% in manufacturing and the same percentage in construction. Following closely behind, at 12.9%, was the retail trade sector.
In Cameron County, there were 11 initial claims, 27.3% of which were in the manufacturing sector. There were 118 continued claims, 53.4% of which were also in manufacturing.
