The job market in April 2024 is reportedly the strongest it has been in six decades, according to a study conducted by the Keystone Research Center. The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry released its preliminary jobs report for April 2024, showing that unemployment has remained at a record low of 3.4%.
The Keystone Research Center is described as a nonpartisan economic think tank dedicated to research and policies that promote shared prosperity and economic opportunity for all Pennsylvanians. According to their study, the number of nonfarm jobs in Pennsylvania reached a record high of 6,149,500 in April, with an increase of 2,600 jobs from March, marking the ninth consecutive monthly increase. The state has gained a total of 81,000 jobs over the past year, with the Pennsylvania unemployment rate now sitting at 3.4%, half a percentage point below the national rate of 3.9% in April.
The persistent low unemployment rate gives workers more leverage in the job market, leading to increased buying power for workers’ pay packets each month. Analyst Maisum Murtaza stated that U.S. workers have seen average real wage increases for 12 straight months. Additionally, the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that unionized workers in the U.S. experienced a 6.3% increase in wages in the 12 months ending March 2024, compared to 4.1% for nonunion workers. This shows that workers are benefiting from the strong job market and gaining more bargaining power when it comes to wages and benefits
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