Employment in the Pittsburgh region improved in October when the jobless rate fell to 5.0 percent from 5.3 percent in September, the second time this year the rate dipped to that level -- the lowest in more than four years.
The seven-county region's jobless rate also touched 5.0 percent in May, but has fallen below that level since September 2001, according to the state Center for Workforce Information and Analysis. The current rate is 0.8 of a percentage point below a year ago. The region includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties.
"Overall, the employment picture is showing positive signs -- slow, steady improvement," said Michele Heister, a work force information analyst.
The unemployment rate fell because of a decline in the number of jobless workers -- from 64,700 in September to 61,400 in October, the state said.
The region's total labor force fell by 4,000 during October, to 1.219 million. Reasons for the decline are unclear, but some workers may have stopped looking for a job because they were discouraged, or they had earned a sufficient income in previous months and decided to drop out of the labor pool, Heister said.
Employment benefited from schools reaching their full complement of staff in October, as seen by an increase of 7,400 jobs in the educational services and local government sectors, the state reported.
The retail trade sector added 1,300 jobs in October to reach 140,600 jobs, a typical increase for October as businesses prepare for the holiday shopping season, Heister said.
The region saw job losses in the leisure and hospitality industries, where employment fell by 3,200 jobs -- from 110,100 to 106,900 jobs last month, Heister said.
