Reading, Pennsylvania Unemployment

The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Reading fell 3.7 percentage points in May 2020 to 13.5%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 0.4 percentage points higher than the Pennsylvania rate. The unemployment rate in Reading peaked in April 2020 at 17.2% and is now 3.7 percentage points lower. You can also compare Reading unemployment with unemployment in other cities.

Unemployment Rate	May 2020	Month/Month	Year/Year
National	13.3%	-1.4	+9.7
Pennsylvania	13.1%	-3.0	+8.9
Reading	13.5%	-3.7	+9.4

Note: Metro level data is now seasonally adjusted.¹ All comparisons are made with May 2020 data as June metro level unemployment data has not yet been released.

Unemployment Rate: Reading, Pennsylvania, National

Note: Recessions shown in gray.

Reading, Pennsylvania Unemployed

The number of people unemployed in Reading peaked in April 2020 at 38,390. There are now 7,906 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. Reading employment and jobs data (including jobs lost/gained in Reading, Pennsylvania) is also available.

Unemployed Persons	May 2020	Month/Month	Year/Year
Reading	30,484	-7,906	+21,585

Number of Unemployed Persons

Reading, Pennsylvania Unemployment History

Date	National Unemployment Rate	Pennsylvania Unemployment Rate	Reading Unemployment Rate	Reading Unemployed
June 2020	11.1%	—	—	—
May 2020	13.3%	13.1%	13.5%	30,484
April 2020	14.7%	16.1%	17.2%	38,390
March 2020	4.4%	5.8%	5.6%	12,174
February 2020	3.5%	4.7%	4.6%	10,110
January 2020	3.6%	4.7%	4.7%	10,147
December 2019	3.5%	4.6%	4.8%	10,524
November 2019	3.5%	4.6%	4.7%	10,365
October 2019	3.6%	4.6%	4.7%	10,163
September 2019	3.5%	4.6%	4.6%	9,927
August 2019	3.7%	4.5%	4.5%	9,664
July 2019	3.7%	4.4%	4.3%	9,389