The unemployment rate in Warren County dropped in May.

According to Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry (L&I) statistics released Tuesday, the seasonally-adjusted county unemployment rate was 4.4% — down from 4.8% in April and 4.5% in March.

A year ago, the rate was 6.8%.

There were about 17,600 people in the adjusted labor force last month, with 16,800 of them having jobs, according to L&I. The rate change from April reflects a larger labor force with the same number of people unemployed — there were 100 fewer people in the seasonally-adjusted labor force in April.

There were more people employed in leisure and hospitality and in government in May and fewer in trade, transportation, and utilities.

In the region, Warren had the lowest unemployment. Meadville’s rate was 4.6%, both Oil City and Bradford reported 4.8%, Erie County had a rate of 5.3%, and the rate in Forest County was 6.1%.

The statewide rate was 4.6% and the national rate in May was 3.6%.

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.