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<p>HARRISBURG &#8212; The Pennsylvania Department of Labor &amp; Industry has released its unemployment report for the month of January, showing the state&#8217;s rate is slightly higher than what&#8217;s happening nationally.</p><p>Pennsylvania&#8217;s unemployment rate was 4.8 percent for the month of January &#8212; unchanged from the month of December, the department reported.</p><p>Meanwhile, the national rate stands at 4.1 percent, also unchanged from December.</p><p>The state&#8217;s 4.6 percent unemployment rate for November was the lowest since September 2007 &#8212; and the new rate is not far off that mark.</p><p>The release says over the year, the unemployment rate dropped by four-tenths of a percentage point.</p><p>Pennsylvania&#8217;s civilian labor force fell by 4,000 in January, to a total of 6,414,000. This comes after four months without change. The release blames this on a drop of 5,000 in employment.</p><p>In terms of nonfarm jobs, the count has decreased by 6,300 to a total of 5,987,300. This is down from December&#8217;s record high, and it&#8217;s the first decline after nine months of gains. </p><p>Despite the losses in nonfarm jobs, their total is still up 1.1 percent through the year.</p><p>The largest employment decline was in education and health services, which dropped by 4,600 positions. The largest uptick was in leisure and hospitality, where an addition of 2,800 jobs means a record high.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Patrick Kernan</p><p>pkernan@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Patrick Kernan at 570-991-6386 or on Twitter @PatKernan</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Pa.’s January unemployment rate holds steady, higher than national rate