Local jobless rate above state average

Job reductions in recent

months have both Potter and Cameron counties hovering well about the statewide unemployment rate.

The Pa. Labor Department reported this week that Potter County's unemployment rate dipped slightly between August and September, falling to 6.7 percent from a previous mark of 7.0 percent.

In Cameron County, 6.4 of adults were looking for work in September.

McKean and Elk counties each had a jobless rate of 5.1 percent. Statewide, 4.6 percent of the

adult population was looking for jobs, which matched the national unemployment rate for September.

Labor market analysts regularly caution the public not to read too much into unemployment data in rural areas, since the figures can fluctuate wildly due to a single business closing or other aberrations.

In practice, measuring the number of unemployed workers actually seeking work is notoriously difficult, particularly those whose unemployment benefits have expired before finding jobs.