Pa. loses 30,000 jobs in March, a 16-year high

HARRISBURG - New figures show that Pennsylvania's employers slashed more than 30,000 jobs in March as unemployment hit its highest rate in more than 16 years.

The state Department of Labor and Industry said yesterday that Pennsylvania's seasonally adjusted total of nonfarm jobs dropped to fewer than 5.7 million for the first time in four years. The number of jobs lost last month is about one in every 187 in Pennsylvania.

The unemployment rate rose three-tenths of a percentage point last month to 7.8 percent, the highest mark since September 1992. The number of people seeking work rose 13,000. Still, the national unemployment rate, 8.5 percent, remains higher than Pennsylvania's.

Since the recession began in December 2007, Pennsylvania has lost more than 130,000 jobs. - AP