Statewide unemployment data for September was released by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry and the new rate of 3.4 percent is an all time low for Pennsylvania. The Department of Labor & Industry started tracking state unemployment data in January 1976. 

The rate is a one-tenth of a percentage point drop from last month and a larger 0.9 percent decrease from September 2022. The state is seeing major gains in nonfarm jobs, with 8,300 new jobs in September, bringing the September total to nearly 6.2 million nonfarm jobs. Those gains are the 9th straight month of increases and are a record high. 

Across the state, jobs increased in September in eight of 11 industry supersectors, with education and health services seeing the largest gains with 6,100 new jobs. Three other sectors also reached record highs in September.