Warren County’s unemployment rate bucked the trend and was down in September.

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry released September data on Tuesday showing a seasonally-adjusted rate of 5.8 percent in the county.

Unemployment had been rising locally since June and reached a high point of 6.7 percent in August — highest since the 7.0 percent in March.

The September rate is the lowest since the 5.7 percent in May.

Unemployment is also down compared to a year ago — the county had a rate of 6.5 percent in September 2020.

The county compared favorably to the statewide average and the regional rates published by L&I. Regional unemployment rates were: Meadville — 6.2 percent, Oil City — 6.3 percent, Bradford — 6.4 percent, Erie — 7.0 percent, and Forest County — 7.7 percent.

The Pennsylvania unemployment rate for September was 6.2 percent, according to L&I. Nationally, the rate was 4.8 percent.

In the county, there was increased employment in trade, transportation, and utilities, and professional business services, according to the department.

According to L&I, there were about 1,100 unemployed Warren County residents in September, taking into account a seasonal adjustment.

According to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics at the U.S. Department of Labor, seasonal adjustment “is a statistical technique that attempts to measure and remove the influences of predictable seasonal patterns to reveal how employment and unemployment changes from month-to-month.”

“These seasonal adjustments make it easier to observe the cyclical, underlying trend and other nonseasonal movements in the series,” making it possible to make month-to-month comparisons.