The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) today released its preliminary employment situation report for March 2026. 

Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was unchanged over the month at 4.2 percent in March. The PA rate was one-tenth of a percentage point below the U.S. unemployment rate, which fell one-tenth of a point from February to 4.3 percent.

The Commonwealth’s unemployment rate matched its March 2025 level of 4.2 percent, while the U.S. rate was up one-tenth from last March.

Pennsylvania’s civilian labor force — the estimated number of residents working or looking for work — was up 6,000 over the month to 6,593,000 in March. Employment was up 9,000 and unemployment declined by 3,000 from February.

Pennsylvania’s total nonfarm jobs were up 12,500 over the month to 6,189,600 in March. Jobs increased in six of the 11 industry supersectors. The largest volume gain was in trade, transportation & utilities, up 5,100 over the month, while the largest decline was in other services (-2,400). Over the year, jobs were up 23,400 with gains in six of the 11 supersectors. The largest volume gain from last March was in education & health services (+30,800).

Additional information is available on the L&I website at www.dli.pa.gov or by following us on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn.