Business & Tech

Lehigh Valley Unemployment Rate Dips

Lehigh Valley sees job growth in local tourism industry.

By Tom Coombe

The Lehigh Valley's unemployment rate dropped slightly between June and July, according to figures released this week by the state Department of Labor and Industry.

The region's unemployment rate was at 7.7 percent in July, with 26,000 people out of work, according to L&I data. That's on track with the rest of the state. 
Lehigh and Northampton counties both saw their unemployment numbers drop in the last year. In July 2012, the unemployment rate for both counties was 8.7 percent.

"July was a great month for job growth with 4,000 private sector jobs added," Julia Hearthway, Secretary of the Department of Labor & Industry, said in a news release. "Pennsylvania has now added 131,100 private-sector jobs since Governor Corbett took office in 2011."

The Lehigh Valley's economy continues to be led by the tourism industry, labor analyst Steven Zellers told the Morning Call Tuesday. Those jobs accounted for 71,000 positions in July, a 20 percent jump from last year.

The Lehigh Valley ranked eighth out the state's 21 "workforce investment areas" in terms of unemployment, the Department of Labor and Industry said.


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