Overall unemployment rate moved up to 7.7% with the biggest shift in Transportation & Utilities, which lost 20,300 roles, based on the most recently available information published in March 2021.

Total employment in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD market declined by 25,839 jobs in January and the unemployment rate increased compared to the prior month by 120 bps to 7.7%. The national unemployment rate increased by 31 bps over the same time to 6.8%.

  • Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD unemployment rate is 89 bps above the national rate which is a negative sign.
  • Unemployment in the market is 310 bps above the unemployment rate in the market last year at this time, which is a negative.
  • Average wages (per hour) grew in January versus prior month by 5.7% and are down compared to last year at this time in the market.
Month over Month Unemployment Change
Year over Year Unemployment Change
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Unemployment January 2021

For key employment segments of the market, total jobs declined by -1.8%. Key sectors include:

  • Education & Healthcare: 626,200; -10,700
  • Transportation & Utilities: 506,900; -20,300
  • Business Services: 449,300; -2,100
  • Government: 324,100; -6,500
  • Financial Services: 214,400; -1,200
  • Restaurants & Hotels: 176,900; -2,200
  • Manufacturing: 173,100; -2,000
  • Construction, Mining: 110,000; -4,800
  • Other Jobs: 102,900; no change
  • IT & Development: 49,100; -1,000
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Unemployment by Industry January 2021

Data is based on the most recent 12 months available, through January 2021 (Data published March 2021 and reports created on March 25, 2021).  Source: Government data agency and locally acquired statistics.

Note: All reported data is not seasonally adjusted.