Reading, PA: Nonfarm employment and labor force data : Mid–Atlantic Information Office : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

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Reading, PA: Nonfarm employment and labor force data

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Employment data from the Current Employment Statistics program
(not seasonally adjusted data, all employees, in thousands)
Sector	Reading, Pa. Metropolitan Statistical Area
Sector	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual Avg
Total Nonfarm
2025	182.4	182.8	184.2	185.3	185.9	184.4	181.3	182.0	184.7	185.2	185.8	186.1	184.2
2026	183.1	182.6	183.6	(p)184.7
Mining, Logging, & Construction
2025	7.8	7.6	7.9	8.3	8.4	8.6	8.8	8.8	8.6	8.4	8.4	8.2	8.3
2026	8.0	7.8	8.1	(p)8.4
Manufacturing
2025	31.5	31.4	31.4	31.4	31.5	31.6	31.4	31.2	30.8	30.6	30.7	30.8	31.2
2026	30.8	30.7	30.8	(p)30.7
Trade, Transportation, & Utilities
2025	37.0	36.4	36.4	36.4	36.5	36.5	35.9	36.0	36.2	36.8	37.4	38.1	36.6
2026	36.8	36.1	36.3	(p)36.3
Information
2025	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.1
2026	1.1	1.1	1.1	(p)1.1
Financial Activities
2025	6.3	6.3	6.3	6.3	6.3	6.3	6.3	6.3	6.3	6.3	6.3	6.3	6.3
2026	6.3	6.3	6.2	(p)6.2
Professional & Business Services
2025	23.9	23.9	24.1	24.6	24.7	24.3	23.7	23.4	24.3	24.5	24.4	24.4	24.2
2026	23.9	23.8	24.0	(p)24.2
Educational & Health Services
2025	33.1	33.7	33.8	33.8	33.2	32.9	32.8	33.0	34.0	34.0	34.2	34.0	33.5
2026	34.2	34.1	34.2	(p)34.4
Leisure & Hospitality
2025	13.9	14.0	14.6	14.8	15.4	15.9	15.4	15.4	15.1	15.0	14.9	14.8	14.9
2026	14.6	14.5	14.6	(p)15.0
Other Services
2025	7.9	7.8	7.9	7.9	8.0	8.0	8.0	8.0	7.8	7.9	7.8	7.8	7.9
2026	7.7	7.7	7.7	(p)7.8
Government
2025	19.9	20.6	20.7	20.7	20.8	19.2	17.9	18.8	20.5	20.6	20.6	20.6	20.1
2026	19.7	20.5	20.6	(p)20.6
Footnotes (p) Preliminary

Labor Force data from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics Program
(not seasonally adjusted data)
	Reading, Pa. Metropolitan Statistical Area
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual Avg
Labor Force
2025	(1)217,803	(1)218,106	(1)219,085	(1)218,918	(1)218,940	(1)219,489	(1)219,467	(1)219,849	(1)219,093	(2)-	(1)220,849	(1)220,183	(1)(3)219,253
2026	220,003	219,571	(p)220,975
Employment
2025	(1)208,284	(1)208,198	(1)209,658	(1)210,713	(1)209,952	(1)209,169	(1)208,536	(1)207,513	(1)208,967	(2)-	(1)211,880	(1)211,799	(1)(3)209,515
2026	210,219	209,214	(p)211,520
Unemployment
2025	(1)9,519	(1)9,908	(1)9,427	(1)8,205	(1)8,988	(1)10,320	(1)10,931	(1)12,336	(1)10,126	(2)-	(1)8,969	(1)8,384	(1)(3)9,738
2026	9,784	10,357	(p)9,455
Unemployment Rate
2025	(1)4.4	(1)4.5	(1)4.3	(1)3.7	(1)4.1	(1)4.7	(1)5.0	(1)5.6	(1)4.6	(2)-	(1)4.1	(1)3.8	(1)(3)4.4
2026	4.4	4.7	(p)4.3
Footnotes (1) Data were subject to revision on May 19, 2026. (2) Data unavailable due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations. (3) Annual estimates for 2025 are 11-month averages that exclude October. Data for October 2025 were not collected due to the federal government shutdown. (p) Preliminary
The Reading, Pa. Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Berks County in Pennsylvania.