Times Observer photo by Josh Cotton Unemployment rates may be falling but county employers are still seeking to fill positions such as here at Whirley-DrinkWorks!

Unemployment rates across the nation are on the decline.

The national rate fell to 0.2 percent from September to October to 4.6 percent while the state’s rate decreased by the same amount — 6.2 to 6.0 percent.

State data showed a 5.8 percent unemployment rate in the county for September.

What the October data will bring is not yet clear but there are positive indicators.

“We have seen an ‘uptick’ in the responses to job posting over the past several weeks which is a very encouraging trend,” said Jim Decker, president/CEO of the Warren County Chamber of Business and Industry.

“We continue to hear from employers across the county and in all economic sectors that hiring remains a significant challenge with numerous current job openings remaining unfilled,” he added.

The state unemployment rate is down a full percent from Oct. 2020 — the civilian labor force, or number of residents working or looking for work dropped by 6,000. The unemployment count “fell for the eighth consecutive month, with 12,000 fewer unemployed individuals in October,” the Pa. Department of Labor and Industry explained.

State data shows the total number of nonfarm jobs increased by 19,100 in October, the sixth straight month of gains. The largest increase was in the leisure and hospitality area.

“Over the year, total nonfarm jobs were up 134,700 with gains in nine of the 11 supersectors,” Labor and Industry said. “Leisure and hospitality had the largest 12-month gain, adding back 47,300 jobs.

In spite of the improvements, job levels continue to be below Feb. 2020, the last month before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.