Overall unemployment rate moved down to 4.0% with the biggest shift in Restaurants & Hotels, which gained 15,000 roles, based on the most recently available information published in June 2022.

Total employment in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD market rose by 26,837 jobs in May and the unemployment rate decreased compared to the prior month by 10 bps to 4.0%. The national unemployment rate increased by 4 bps over the same time to 3.4%.

  • Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD unemployment rate is 62 bps above the national rate which is a negative sign.
  • Unemployment in the market is 250 bps below the unemployment rate in the market last year at this time, which is a positive.
  • Average wages (per hour) grew in May versus prior month by 5.7% 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 May 2022

For key employment segments of the market, total jobs grew by 0.5% . Key sectors include:

  • Education & Healthcare: 659,100; -1,900
  • Transportation & Utilities: 536,800; no change
  • Business Services: 491,900; -1,400
  • Government: 331,100; -1,000
  • Restaurants & Hotels: 260,000; +15,000
  • Financial Services: 219,200; +1,300
  • Manufacturing: 178,700; +1,000
  • Construction, Mining: 121,200; +600
  • Other Jobs: 118,100; +1,700
  • IT & Development: 50,100; +700
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Unemployment by Industry May 2022

Data is based on the most recent 12 months available, through May 2022 (Data published June 2022 and reports created on June 29, 2022).  Source: Government data agency and locally acquired statistics.

Note: All reported data is not seasonally adjusted.