Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates fell in November in Somerset and Cambria counties, but the really positive news involved the jobs numbers in Cambria.
Data released this morning show the number of jobs in Cambria rose by 400 to 62,500, the highest number since 1990, according to the state Center for Workforce Information and Analysis.
Prior to 1990, Cambria and Somerset were lumped together as the Johnstown Metropolitan Statistical Area. Somerset County now is classified as a Micropolitan Statistical Area.
“Yeah!” exclaimed Linda Thomson, president of Johnstown Area Regional Industries, in learning of the record-high jobs number.
“It’s been very positive,” she said, speculating that the growth trend will continue.
State industry and business analyst Lauren Nimal said that, for years, growth has been coming in the services sector as there has been a decline in manufacturing.
“It’s been kind of spread out – 100 jobs here and 100 jobs there,” she said.
As for the unemployment rates, Cambria’s fell by 0.7 of a percentage point to 4.9 percent. Somerset’s also dropped to 4.9 percent from 5.7 percent. Nimal points out that most counties in the state dropped by 0.5 of a percentage point.
Somerset County’s jobs fell by 100 to 26,300 in November.
In November 2006, the Cambria and Somerset jobless rates were both 5.5 percent. At that time, the jobs numbers were 61,700 in the Johnstown MSA and 27,400 in Somerset.
The rates are adjusted to reflect seasonal fluctuations.
The jobs numbers can be more indicative of the health of an area than the unemployment rates because they are only for a specific section such as Cambria. Employment numbers for Cambria, for example, count residents of the county who may be working outside that geographical area.
Neither county showed much change in retail hiring between October and November despite the start of the Christmas shopping season.
The gain of 400 jobs in Cambria came through a net increase of 500 in service jobs that was offset by a loss of 100 in the goods-producing area.
“The jobs numbers in Somerset aren’t doing anything spectacular,” Nimal said.
November’s unemployment rate in Cambria came about through a 500 drop in the number of unemployed and a slight drop in the labor force to 68,300. Joblessness in Somerset fell by 200 to 1,900, while the labor force grew by 300 to 37,800.
The Johnstown MSA has the highest rate among the state’s 14 MSAs, and its rate was higher than both the state and national figures. For the year, the Johnstown unemployment rate has fallen by 0.6 of a percentage point.
December rates will be released Jan. 30.
It is unlikely that last month’s announcement that FreightCar America is shutting down its Franklin Borough plant will sharply affect December’s numbers. That is because only a few people still are working at the plant; earlier layoffs already have been factored in to the numbers.
In a nutshell
Current seasonally adjusted unemployment percentages:
Somerset rate: 4.9
Johnstown MSA rate: 4.9
Pennsylvania rate: 4.2
U.S. rate: 4.7
Lowest Johnstown MSA rate in 2007: 4.1, in March.
Highest Johnstown MSA rate in 2007: 5.8, in August and September.
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