Overall unemployment rate moved up to 5.3% with the biggest shift in Transportation & Utilities, which lost 18,100 roles, based on the most recently available information published in March 2022.

Total employment in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD market rose by 83,875 jobs in January and the unemployment rate increased compared to the prior month by 110 bps to 5.3%. The national unemployment rate increased by 74 bps over the same time to 4.4%.

  • Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD unemployment rate is 87 bps above the national rate which is a negative sign.
  • Unemployment in the market is 240 bps below the unemployment rate in the market last year at this time, which is a positive.
  • Average wages (per hour) grew in January versus prior month by 4.7% and are up 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 2022

For key employment segments of the market, total jobs declined by -2.1%. Key sectors include:

  • Education & Healthcare: 645,200; -10,200
  • Transportation & Utilities: 537,100; -18,100
  • Business Services: 475,500; -5,000
  • Government: 326,600; -6,400
  • Restaurants & Hotels: 227,200; -13,400
  • Financial Services: 217,000; -2,300
  • Manufacturing: 174,700; -2,100
  • Construction, Mining: 117,300; -2,700
  • Other Jobs: 115,400; -700
  • IT & Development: 49,500; -700
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Unemployment by Industry January 2022

Data is based on the most recent 12 months available, through January 2022 (Data published March 2022 and reports created on March 18, 2022).  Source: Government data agency and locally acquired statistics.

Note: All reported data is not seasonally adjusted.