With already relatively low unemployment and a constantly changing business environment you might be forgiven for thinking that the numbers would level out, but the downward rate of unemployment in Chester County has been unwavering.
Having an unemployment rate among the lowest in the state and nationally, the main problem for Chester County is now the lack of qualified workers who are in demand by the employers.
The latest statistics from the state Department of Labor & Industry show that Chester County’s unemployment rate seasonally adjusted for September was 3.7 percent. While this number is a tick up compared to August’s 3.6 percent, it is 0.2 percent down from the 3.9 percent from September last year.
However, even though the unemployment rate is low there are still residents of Chester County that struggle with just over 10,000 unemployed workers looking for a job in September. On top of that is a group of workers in the “discouraged” category. These are people who have been looking for work for so long that they have given up and are no longer considered actively seeking employment, and left out of the official count by the Center of Workforce Information & Analysis.
“Many individuals have stepped away from the employment market for whatever reason,” said Pat Bokovitz, the Director of the Chester County Workforce Development Board.
To address this issue, the county has implemented its Platform to Employment program run by a Bridgeport company to help 25 long-term unemployed residents find new jobs during its pilot stage. If this proves successful, it is planned to continue the program. For Chester County, the main challenge is not to become complacent.
“We are fortunate with our economic situation but we certainly don’t want to take anything for granted,” Bokovitz said. “That’s one of the reasons we just had the workforce summit with educators.”
