The Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report Friday, September 16 with unemployment and jobs data from August. According to the report, the national unemployment rate is at 3.7 percent which is .2 percent higher than July. 

For the past few months, the Pennsylvania unemployment rate has steadily declined and in August, unemployment was at 4.2 percent, the lowest it has been since June 2000.

Locally, in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre–Hazleton metropolitan area, preliminary numbers show that 500 new jobs were added between July and August. The largest increases were seen in the business, education, and health services sectors. 

The full Bureau of Labor Statistics report can be found here.