Potter County Jobless Rate Remains Below National Figure

Unemployment figures for Potter County showed almost no change in Potter County during April. Potter County’s rate was 8.7 percent, after falling for five consecutive months to 8.5 percent in March. Potter County’s figure was lower than the national jobless rate of (9.0 percent) for the second consecutive month.

Potter County’s rate was 10.4 percent as recently as November. There have been many factors in the improving figures, 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.