Department of Numbers

Reading, Pennsylvania Unemployment

The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Reading fell 0.7 percentage points in November 2021 to 5.1%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 0.6 percentage points lower than the Pennsylvania rate. The unemployment rate in Reading peaked in April 2020 at 18.4% and is now 13.3 percentage points lower. You can also compare Reading unemployment with unemployment in other cities.

Unemployment Rate November 2021 Month/Month Year/Year
National 4.2% -0.4 -2.5
Pennsylvania 5.7% -0.3 -1.4
Reading 5.1% -0.7 -1.9
Note: Metro level data is now seasonally adjusted.1 All comparisons are made with November 2021 data as December metro level unemployment data has not yet been released.

Unemployment Rate: Reading, Pennsylvania, National

Reading, Pennsylvania monthly unemployment rate chart

Note: Recessions shown in gray.

Reading, Pennsylvania Unemployed

The number of people unemployed in Reading peaked in April 2020 at 38,249. There are now 28,017 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. Reading employment and jobs data (including jobs lost/gained in Reading, Pennsylvania) is also available.

Unemployed Persons November 2021 Month/Month Year/Year
Reading 10,232 -1,574 -4,193

Number of Unemployed Persons

Reading, Pennsylvania Unemployment History

Date National
Unemployment Rate		 Pennsylvania
Unemployment Rate		 Reading
Unemployment Rate		 Reading
Unemployed
December
2021		 3.9% — — —
November
2021		 4.2% 5.7% 5.1% 10,232
October
2021		 4.6% 6.0% 5.8% 11,806
September
2021		 4.7% 6.2% 5.8% 11,754
August
2021		 5.2% 6.4% 6.4% 13,118
July
2021		 5.4% 6.5% 6.3% 12,877
June
2021		 5.9% 6.9% 6.2% 12,686
May
2021		 5.8% 7.0% 6.2% 12,564
April
2021		 6.0% 7.1% 7.1% 14,558
March
2021		 6.0% 7.3% 7.1% 14,602
February
2021		 6.2% 7.4% 7.0% 14,413
January
2021		 6.4% 7.3% 6.8% 14,042

1. Metro area unemployment rates are now seasonally adjusted. The BLS has started publishing smoothed seasonally adjusted metropolitan area data which makes comparisons to state and national data more relevant than the unadjusted numbers. ↩

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