Pennsylvania’s payrolls grew again in January, the unemployment rate crept down and the labor force expanded after more than a year of contraction, according to new figures released today. Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate dropped a tenth of a percentage point to 5.4% from December’s adjusted rate, according to the state Department of Labor and Industry. December’s initial rate was 5.4% before being adjusted upward. The national rate was 4% in January. The gap between Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate and the national rate is among the widest it has been in decades.
