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	(p)182.6
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	(p)7.8
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	(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	(p)36.1
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	(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	(p)6.3
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	(p)23.8
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	(p)34.1
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	(p)14.5
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	(p)7.7
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	(p)20.5
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	216,539	217,881	218,917	218,121	217,619	217,716	219,629	219,122	218,002	(1)-	219,489	(p)219,246
2026	220,003	(p)219,629
Employment
2025	207,438	208,534	210,001	210,297	209,102	207,711	209,152	207,731	208,325	(1)-	210,940	(p)211,029
2026	210,219	(p)209,216
Unemployment
2025	9,101	9,347	8,916	7,824	8,517	10,005	10,477	11,391	9,677	(1)-	8,549	(p)8,217
2026	9,784	(p)10,413
Unemployment Rate
2025	4.2	4.3	4.1	3.6	3.9	4.6	4.8	5.2	4.4	(1)-	3.9	(p)3.7
2026	4.4	(p)4.7
Footnotes (1) Data unavailable due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations. (p) Preliminary
The Reading, Pa. Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Berks County in Pennsylvania.