The labor force in the Pittsburgh region continues to grow. In fact, the total labor force figure for the region in September was 1,259,661, which is the highest labor force figure for the region ever and is almost 2 percentage points higher than the figure in September 2011.

The number of unemployed in the Pittsburgh MSA increased by almost 4 percent in September 2012 compared to September 2011, and the number of employed increased by 1.7 percent year-over-year.  The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 7.4 percent was up slightly from August (7.3 percent) and higher than the rate in September 2011 (7.2 percent).