The Department of Labor & Industry released its monthly jobs report today, showing a decrease in unemployment for the third straight month.

The Good News

Pennsylvania’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate declined to 5.1 percent in November, three-tenths of a percentage point lower than October 2014. November’s unemployment rate in the state is the lowest in more than six years.

The unemployment rate in Pennsylvania continues to look much more positive than the national average, which currently stands at 5.8 percent.

Compared to November 2013, the unemployment rate in Pennsylvania is down 1.8 percentage points vs. the national rate decline of 1.2 percentage points.

Pennsylvania’s civilian labor force – the number of people working or looking for work – expanded by 5,000 in November. Resident employment was up 27,000 while unemployment was down 22,000.

The number of non-farms jobs was up by 200 to 5,798,300 – the highest level since September 2008. On the year, non-farms jobs are up 33,200, or 0.6 percent.

Mining and logging showed the largest year-to-year growth, jumping 5.6% from last November, while construction was up 3.2%.

The Bad News

Meanwhile, only two sectors experienced year-to-year losses; information (down 2.9%) and government (down 0.4%).