LEWISTOWN - March continued the slow decline in unemployment across Pennsylvania.
A 0.8-percent job growth for the month came from service-producing industries, including leisure and hospitality services, according to statistics released Tuesday by the state Department of Labor and Industry. The state also saw an increase in mining and logging jobs.
But the warmer weather did not bring good news for construction workers. The industry lost 3,000 jobs in March.
Locally, unemployment numbers fell from February to March:
Mifflin County - 7.6 percent, no change from February;
Juniata County - 6.4 percent, down 0.4 percent from February;
Snyder County - 7.4 percent, down 0.2 percent from February;
Huntingdon County - 8.6 percent, down 0.5 percent from February;
Centre County - 5.4 percent, down 0.2 percent from February, the second lowest unemployment rate in Pennsylvania. The county gained about 600 jobs in leisure, hospitality, health and education.
In March, the unemployment rate was 7.5 percent in the commonwealth and 8.2 percent in the U.S.
Bradford County, at 5.1 percent, has the state's lowest unemployment rate. Cameron County has the highest rate at 13.3 percent.
The number of employed Pennsylvanians grew by 21,000 in March, and overall unemployment fell by 5,000.
Local jobless rates were adjusted from February.
