The unemployment rate in Warren County dropped to its lowest point in years in September.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry (L&I), the seasonally adjusted rate was 4.0 percent. The unadjusted rate was 3.4 percent.

The adjusted rate in the county rate was lower in June 2019 – at 3.8 percent.

The rates in August were 4.7 percent adjusted and 4.9 percent not adjusted.

A year ago, the September 2021 rates were 6.1 and 5.5 percent.

The adjusted rate is the lowest in northwestern Pennsylvania and lower than the state-wide average (4.1 percent).

The national average was 3.5 percent in September.

The unadjusted rate for the state was 3.4 percent while the national rate was 3.3 percent.

Regionally, Meadville at 4.2 percent was next lowest, with Oil City (4.4), Bradford and Erie (4.9) and Forest County (6.2) trailing.

According to L&I, the labor force remained the same locally from August to September, but the number of unemployed people dropped. The department attributes the employment gains to added jobs in trade, transportation, and utilities.

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.