HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Pennsylvania's jobless rate rose again for the fourth straight month in September, although it coincided with the biggest monthly jump in hiring since February.
The state Department of Labor and Industry said Friday that the unemployment rate rose to 8.2 percent from 8.1 percent, as an estimated 29,000 people started looking for work.
The national unemployment rate is 7.8 percent.
The steady rise in Pennsylvania's jobless rate comes after it dropped back to 7.4 percent from the recessionary peak of 8.7 percent in 2010.
The department says payrolls rose by nearly 18,000 jobs in September, as education and the professional and business services sectors showed sizeable gains. At just over 5.73 million nonfarm jobs, Pennsylvania payrolls remain smaller than they were in 2006, before the recession started.