The region, which includes Warren County in New Jersey, employed 402,500 people last month, according to the figures released this morning.
View full sizeKathryn Hoffman, left, with Second Harvest Food Bank, talks with Linda Hlnasney, of Orefield, during an unemployment resource fair last year in Allentown. Mirroring a trend on the state and national levels, the unemployment rate in the Lehigh Valley dropped again in the month of April and is now flirting with the 8 percent mark, state officials reported this morning.
The Lehigh Valley metropolitan statistical area, which includes Warren County in New Jersey, saw an unemployment rate of 8.1 percent in April, a drop two-tenths of a percentage point from March, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry said in its latest report.
Statewide, the rate dropped three-tenths of a percentage point to 7.6 percent from March to April. Nationally, the rate dropped to 7.5 percent last month, down one-tenth of a percentage point.
The state says 402,500 people were employed in April compared to 401,300 in March in the Lehigh Valley MSA. Local job gains came in the sectors of construction, and leisure and hospitality, according to the state’s report.
The latest unemployment rate comes on the heels of several national reports issued recently that have shown evidence of an improving economy. On Tuesday, the Conference Board said consumer confidence has reached its highest level in five years. Various real estate groups also issued a series of positive housing reports in the past week.
Locally, analysts have said the employment trends are encouraging, noting the Lehigh Valley MSA hasn’t hit these levels of employment since before President Barack Obama took office for his first term. Bethlehem economist Kamran Afshar said last month that he expects more hiring through at least the summer in the region.