HARRISBURG, Pa. - Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate skyrocketed in April at the height of the state's pandemic-driven shutdown to its highest rate in over four decades of record-keeping, the state Department of Labor and Industry said Friday.
Meanwhile, payrolls fell by more than 1 million to the lowest level in at least three decades. Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate more than doubled to 15.1% in April, up from 5.8% in March, the department said.
The department had initially said Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was 6% in March, but that preliminary figure was adjusted downward to 5.8%. FULL COVERAGE: CORONAVIRUS The national rate was 14.7% in April.