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Pennsylvania jobs and job market: layoffs, colleges and workforce help

Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate is 3.6%. 8,860 open professional jobs are listed here. Employers filed 72 layoff notices in the last 12 months. Choose a county or city for the same picture closer to home.

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Pennsylvania economy

  • 3.6%

    unemployment, Sep 2026

    4.4% the month before

  • 6,663,043

    in the labor force

    Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics

  • 12,986,518

    people in Pennsylvania

    Source: U.S. Census Bureau

  • $76,081

    median household income

    Source: Census ACS

  • 42%

    of workers in white-collar occupations

    Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS

Pennsylvania outlook: Steady

Built from public Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census figures. It describes the area, not any one employer in it.

  • Private-sector jobs up 2.5% from 2022 to 2025
  • Population up 0.5% from 2020 to 2025
  • Unemployment 3.2%, down 1.1 points from a year ago
  • Sectors adding the most jobs: health care (+117,228 jobs), hotels & food (+25,409 jobs)
  • Sectors losing the most jobs: retail (−13,826 jobs), admin & staffing (−10,467 jobs)

Learn and get funded in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania layoffs

  • 72

    Layoff notices, last 12 months

  • 11,582

    workers named

    A floor: states may leave out counts

  • 67

    employers

Layoff notices filed in Pennsylvania, newest first
Notice dateEmployerCity or countyWorkersTypeSource
Effective Pep Boys Manny Moe & Jack, LLCMontgomery169—State record
Effective Family Endeavors———State record
Effective Republic AmusementsCumberland48—State record
Effective Powered by FTGU, LLCLancaster67ClosureState record
Effective Ask Foods, LLCLebanon96ClosureState record
Effective Pavilion at BradfordMcKean80ClosureState record
Effective Kenco Logistic Services, LLCNorthampton52ClosureState record
Effective Jerith Manufacturing, LLCPhiladelphia61ClosureState record
Effective Mountain Valley Golf CourseSchuylkill111ClosureState record
Effective CJ Logistics America, LLCCumberland56ClosureState record

All layoff notices in the state

Get an email when a new notice is filed for Pennsylvania

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Employers hiring most in Pennsylvania

Employers with the most open professional roles on our job board right now.

  1. PNC Financial Services Group179 open roles
  2. Carnegie Mellon University129 open roles
  3. Confidential121 open roles
  4. GSK114 open roles
  5. Amazon64 open roles
  6. Cencora63 open roles
  7. UPMC58 open roles
  8. Lincoln National48 open roles
  9. Westinghouse Electric Company47 open roles
  10. West Pharmaceutical Services45 open roles
  11. Attentive43 open roles
  12. Lutron43 open roles

Largest employers headquartered in Pennsylvania

Employee counts with a year are published figures (Wikidata). Other sizes are estimates from our company directory, not payroll counts.

Higher education in Pennsylvania

  • 138

    public and private non-profit colleges

    Source: IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education

  • about 710,000

    students enrolled

    Estimated from size bands

Largest colleges in Pennsylvania

Largest colleges in Pennsylvania
CollegeCityTypeStudents
Drexel UniversityPhiladelphiaPrivate non-profit 4-year20,000+
Pennsylvania State University-Main CampusUniversity ParkPublic 4-year20,000+
Temple UniversityPhiladelphiaPublic 4-year20,000+
University of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPrivate non-profit 4-year20,000+
University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh CampusPittsburghPublic 4-year20,000+
Carnegie Mellon UniversityPittsburghPrivate non-profit 4-year10,000–19,999
Commonwealth University of PennsylvaniaBloomsburgPublic 4-year10,000–19,999
Pennsylvania State University-World CampusUniversity ParkPublic 4-year10,000–19,999
Pennsylvania Western UniversityCaliforniaPublic 4-year10,000–19,999
Villanova UniversityVillanovaPrivate non-profit 4-year10,000–19,999
West Chester University of PennsylvaniaWest ChesterPublic 4-year10,000–19,999
American College of Financial ServicesKing of PrussiaPrivate non-profit 4-year5,000–9,999

All 138 Pennsylvania colleges

Workforce development and job centers

The public workforce board and American Job Centers serving Pennsylvania. They offer free help with job search, training and filing for benefits.

Laid off in Pennsylvania? How to file for unemployment in Pennsylvania (steps, weekly amount and the appeal deadline).

64 American Job Centers in Pennsylvania

Job fairs and business events in Pennsylvania

Hiring events, career workshops, small-business counseling and startup events from chambers, job centers, workforce boards, colleges and economic-development groups in Pennsylvania.

Conferences in Pennsylvania

Industry conferences and trade shows held in Pennsylvania, the ones worth a trip for hiring managers and job seekers. 42 with dates announced.

  • NTA Annual Conference on Taxation

    Nov 12 to Nov 14, 2026 · Pittsburgh, PA

    Paid ticket, price not listed

  • PA Digital Summit

    Nov 18, 2026 · Harrisburg, PA

    Paid ticket. Ticket price not listed

  • UCEA Annual Convention

    Nov 18 to Nov 21, 2026 · Pittsburgh, PA

    Paid ticket. 2027 convention planned for Kansas City, Nov 17-20. Pricing not captured; contact convention@ucea.org.

    Open call for speakers

  • NCTE Annual Convention

    Nov 19 to Nov 22, 2026 · Philadelphia, PA

    Ticket $190 to $595. Nonmember $595, student $190 (requires student membership); group rate $530/person for 10+ teachers after…

  • ASCE2027

    Mar 1 to Mar 5, 2027 · Philadelphia, PA

    Ticket $949 to $1,559. Full registration: ASCE member $949 early bird (to Nov 16, 2026), $1,089 advanced (to Feb 4, 2027), $1,249…

    Open call for speakers

  • Forest Landowners Conference

    Mar 5 to Mar 6, 2027 · State College, PA

    Paid ticket. Biennial; registration expected to open December 2026; price not posted.

  • Reuters Events: Pharma USA

    Mar 10 to Mar 11, 2027 · Philadelphia, PA

    Paid ticket. Pricing not published; interest-registration form open.

  • AAHPM and HPNA Annual Assembly

    Mar 17 to Mar 20, 2027 · Pittsburgh, PA

    Paid ticket, price not listed

  • Life Sciences Accounting & Reporting Congress

    Mar 22 to Mar 24, 2027 · Philadelphia, PA

    Paid ticket. Save $500 by registering by 10/30/2026; prices not listed.

  • NAFA Institute & Expo

    Apr 5 to Apr 7, 2027 · Pittsburgh, PA

    Ticket $875 to $1,775. All-access, fleet manager: NAFA member $875 early bird (to Jan 15), $975 advanced, $1,075 regular;…

  • NPA Annual Conference

    Apr 9 to Apr 10, 2027 · Pittsburgh, PA

    Paid ticket. 2027 registration prices not yet posted.

    Open call for speakers · deadline Oct 9, 2026

  • AORN Global Surgical Conference & Expo

    Apr 10 to Apr 13, 2027 · Philadelphia, PA

    Paid ticket. Pricing page exists; retired and novice nurse rates; groups of 3+ save $40 each.

    Open call for speakers

  • Educating Leaders

    Apr 14 to Apr 16, 2027 · Philadelphia, PA

    Ticket $1,000 to $1,200. Early $1,000 (12/8-1/15), advance $1,100, regular $1,200; workshops $275-$450.

  • IAMPHENOM

    Apr 20 to Apr 22, 2027 · Philadelphia, PA

    Ticket $300 to $900. Tiered: $300 until Dec 31 2026, $500 until Jan 31 2027, $700 until Mar 15, $900 late; first 27 registrants…

  • Philadelphia Official Cybersecurity Summit

    Apr 22, 2027 · Philadelphia, PA

    Free expo floor; session passes $325. Standard admission $325; registrations are reviewed for eligibility

  • Pittcon

    Apr 24 to Apr 28, 2027 · Pittsburgh, PA

    Ticket $450 to $600. Full pass $450, $600 after Mar 18, 2027; one-day $225 to $300.

  • ASGCT Annual Meeting

    May 3 to May 7, 2027 · Philadelphia, PA

    Paid ticket. Registration opens December 2026; fees not yet posted.

  • National Head Start Conference & Expo

    May 3 to May 6, 2027 · Pittsburgh, PA

    Paid ticket, price not listed

  • Philly Tech Week

    May 3 to May 8, 2027 · Philadelphia, PA

    Free. Cart shows $0; individual events set their own tickets.

    Open call for speakers

  • TAtech North America

    May 4 to May 6, 2027 · Philadelphia, PA

    Paid ticket. Tickets sold through a third-party ticketing site; price not on event page.

  • ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2027)

    May 10 to May 14, 2027 · Pittsburgh, PA

    Paid ticket. Registration fees not yet posted on site.

    Open call for speakers · deadline Jan 21, 2027

  • ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

    May 10 to May 14, 2027 · Pittsburgh, PA

    Paid ticket. Registration fees not yet posted on the site.

  • AIA Conference on Architecture & Design

    May 19 to May 22, 2027 · Philadelphia, PA

    Paid ticket. General 2027 registration opens early 2027, no prices yet.

    Open call for speakers

  • ASFPM Annual National Conference

    May 23 to May 27, 2027 · Pittsburgh, PA

    Ticket $655 to $1,225. Full in-person: ASFPM/PAFPM member $825 early (to Apr 15), $925 to May 15, $1,025 late; non-member $1,025…

    Open call for speakers · deadline Nov 2, 2026

Showing 24 of 54 conferences, 42 with dates announced.

All conferences

Pennsylvania counties

Each county page has its own unemployment, layoffs, job openings, employers, colleges and job centers.

Show all 67

Pennsylvania cities

Cities with open jobs, layoff notices, a job center or a college.

Show all 316

Laid off or looking for work in Pennsylvania?

See what to do first, what Pennsylvania unemployment benefits pay, and the jobs open near you.

See your options after a layoff

Sources: Census Bureau and BLS for population, income and unemployment; layoff notices from Pennsylvania’s published record; job counts from our live job board, taken from employers’ own career sites; IPEDS for colleges; CareerOneStop for workforce boards and job centers. Pennsylvania unemployment benefits and severance rules.

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