Potter County’s Jobless Rate Now Below National Average

Local officials are encouraged by the most recent unemployment figures for Potter County. March’s workforce profile, released this week, shows another drop in the area’s jobless rate.

Potter County’s rate was 8.5 percent, lower than the national jobless rate of (8.8 percent) for the first time in several years. The brighter jobs picture continued a trend carrying over from the fourth quarter of 2010. Potter County’s  rate was 8.9 percent in February, 9.2 percent in January, 10.0 percent in December, and 10.4 percent in November. There were many factors, including job growth at customer contact centers and other larger employers; call-backs of manufacturing employees who were laid off; new jobs in the national gas industry, and slight growth in retail employment.

As always, the State Department of Labor and Industry advises that wide fluctuations can take place in local jobless rates, due to the relatively small labor force and other factors, such as migration. Official unemployment rates can mask a more serious problem. As furloughed employees exhaust their unemployment compensation benefits, they are no longer counted among the jobless who are “actively looking for work” and, thus, reported as unemployed.