The drop brings the region closer to the Pennsylvania and national rate.
View full sizeKathryn Hoffman, left, with Second Harvest Food Bank, talks with Linda Hlnasney, of Orefield, during an unemployment resource fair in April 2012 at the IBEW local 375. The Lehigh Valley unemployment rate dipped to 8.3 percent in March. The unemployment rate in the Lehigh Valley dropped three-tenths of a percentage point to 8.3 percent in March and Pennsylvania statewide saw its rate drop below 8 percent to 7.9 percent, edging it closer to the national rate.
The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry released the figures this morning.
The Lehigh Valley, which for data collecting purposes includes Warren County, saw an increase of 700 jobs from February to March. The civilian labor workforce, which is the number of people in the region looking for jobs, also decreased by 2,200, a factor in the rate change.
The national unemployment rate for March was at 7.6 percent, also a decrease from the previous month. On the local, state and national levels, the job market has shown signs of improvement in recent months, analysts have said.
The Lehigh Valley in March saw job gains in construction, healthcare, professional services and several other sectors, the department said.