Pittsburgh's five-year job growth rate from August 2013 to August 2018 was 2.2. percent. It is the lowest of Pittsburgh Today's benchmark regions, well below Austin's 20.6 percent growth rate over the same period of time. ow.ly/9mwm30lUYyw

The Pittsburgh region gained 4,800 jobs between August 2017 and August 2018, a .5 percent increase over the year. That percentage falls below the benchmark average of 2.1 percent growth and the lowest of Pittsburgh Today’s benchmark regions. ow.ly/YeHn30lUYkU

Pittsburgh’s unemployment rate was higher than the benchmark average of 3.6 percent and was the fifth-highest unemployment rate of all benchmark regions in June. ow.ly/8zf030lfQHc

The unemployment rate in southwestern Pennsylvania bounced back up to 4.1 percent in June after falling below 4 percent in May for the first time since the 1970s. ow.ly/86bt30lfQBP

southwestern Pennsylvania hasn’t seen an unemployment rate this low since Richard Nixon was president, the Beatles announced they were breaking up and America was embroiled in the Vietnam War. ow.ly/R7Ht30kHXfT

Unemployment in the Pittsburgh region falls below 4% in May ow.ly/hvrJ30kFSGH

While all sectors exhibited strength, robotics and information technology was the stand out. ow.ly/dVrt30k970o

A business scorecard shows that 2017 was a good year for business investment and jobs across major sectors of the region. ow.ly/CpJn30k96X1

But at the same time, fine particulate pollution levels rose last year as a reminder of the air quality problems that linger in the region. ow.ly/xmZJ30k6GnS

Falling ozone pollution levels have led southwestern Pennsylvania to be declared in “attainment” of the current federal health-based standard, a status that had eluded the region for decades. ow.ly/iY4x30k6GjT

The Pittsburgh region gained 14,300 jobs between April 2017 and April 2018, a 1.4 percent increase over the year. ow.ly/snkl30k6s6j

Within the region, Butler County held the lowest unemployment rate at 4.0 percent, while Fayette County held the highest rate at 6.0 percent. ow.ly/9Mtf30jOFOJ

Metropolitan Pittsburgh’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased .7 percent from 5.2 percent in March 2017 to 4.5 percent in March 2018. ow.ly/ZHJ630jOFKX

Pittsburgh’s unemployment rate was higher than the benchmark average of 3.6 percent and was the third-highest unemployment rate of all benchmark regions in February. ow.ly/6nUF30jOFUY

The recent decline is driven by a couple of factors: Natural population loss – more deaths than births in the region and negative domestic migration, which is the result of having more people leave than move to southwestern PA. ow.ly/nSga30j7qUg

*February 2018

The Pittsburgh region gained 14,400 jobs between February 2017 and February 2019, a 1.3 percent increase over the year. That percentage falls slightly below the benchmark average of 1.4 percent growth. ow.ly/b6Iz30j7Lnn

The Pittsburgh region’s population continued to slide in 2017, falling to 2,333,367 people, according to recent population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. ow.ly/nrPM30j7qtC

But here’s the catch: Fewer than 1 in 3 southwestern Pennsylvanians are a healthy weight and more than 1 in 3 are obese. ow.ly/C7fr30j7rXE