Department of Numbers

Reading, Pennsylvania Unemployment

The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Reading rose 0.1 percentage points in July 2021 to 6.3%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 0.3 percentage points lower than the Pennsylvania rate. The unemployment rate in Reading peaked in April 2020 at 18.4% and is now 12.1 percentage points lower. From a post peak low of 6.2% in May 2021, the unemployment rate has now grown by 0.1 percentage points. You can also compare Reading unemployment with unemployment in other cities.

Unemployment Rate July 2021 Month/Month Year/Year
National 5.4% -0.5 -4.8
Pennsylvania 6.6% -0.3 -6.4
Reading 6.3% +0.1 -7.0
Note: Metro level data is now seasonally adjusted.1 All comparisons are made with July 2021 data as August 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 25,387 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. From a recent trough of 12,564 in May 2021, the number of unemployed has now grown by 298. Reading employment and jobs data (including jobs lost/gained in Reading, Pennsylvania) is also available.

Unemployed Persons July 2021 Month/Month Year/Year
Reading 12,862 +176 -15,692

Number of Unemployed Persons

Reading, Pennsylvania Unemployment History

Date National
Unemployment Rate		 Pennsylvania
Unemployment Rate		 Reading
Unemployment Rate		 Reading
Unemployed
August
2021		 5.2% — — —
July
2021		 5.4% 6.6% 6.3% 12,862
June
2021		 5.9% 6.9% 6.2% 12,686
May
2021		 5.8% 7.0% 6.2% 12,564
April
2021		 6.1% 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		 6.3% 7.3% 6.8% 14,042
December
2020		 6.7% 7.1% 6.7% 13,909
November
2020		 6.7% 7.1% 7.0% 14,425
October
2020		 6.9% 7.0% 7.2% 15,091
September
2020		 7.8% 7.1% 7.6% 16,015

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. ↩

Data on deptofnumbers.com is for informational purposes only. No warranty or guarantee of accuracy is offered or implied. Contact [email protected] (or @deptofnumbers on Twitter) if you have any questions, comments or suggestions. Privacy policy.