Schuylkill County Pennsylvania

Schuylkill County unemployment rate rises for second consecutive month, now 9.0%

The county unemployment rate rose in May for the second consecutive month, according to numbers released Monday by the state Department of Labor & Industry.

May's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, the number of people working or looking for work, was 9.0 percent, up from 8.8 percent in April.

Steven Zellers, industry and business analyst for the state Department of Labor and Industry, said despite the increase in the monthly unemployment rate, Schuylkill County reported an increase of 700 jobs from April to May.

Of those jobs, Zellers said retail trade was up by 200 jobs, while leisure and hospitality; transportation, warehousing and utilities; and mining, logging and construction, are all up by 100 jobs each.

"The rate sometimes employs a negative slant that really isn't there," Zellers said Tuesday.

Zellers said the amount of people looking for jobs increased more that than the amount of people hired.

"This is due to a little bit of everything," Zellers said. "It could be kids looking for summer work as well as the discouraged worker who had previously looked for work and stopped, coming back to the job market."

Last week, it was announced that Affinia Group Inc, a global automotive replacement parts company, will open a distribution center in Humboldt West Industrial Park in a leased 289,000-square-foot building in East Union Township. It is expected to create at least 150 jobs over the next year.

Schuylkill County is ranked 56th of 67 counties in Pennsylvania in rate of unemployment.

Centre County is ranked first with an unemployment rate of 5.5 percent, while Cameron County is ranked last with a rate of 10.4.

Nearby, Berks County is ranked 36th with an unemployment rate of 7.7; Carbon County is 64th with a rate of 9.7; and Luzerne County is 53rd with a rate of 8.8.

Zellers said overall, Schuylkill County is down 1.8 percentage points over the year, better than Pennsylvania which is down 1.3 percentage points for the year.

The state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 7.4 percent in May, down from 7.5 percent in April. This month's state rate was down 1.3 percentage points from May 2010.

According to the national Bureau of Labor and Statistics, May's unemployment rate nationwide is 9.1 percent. Zellers said the nation is down 0.5 percentage points over the year.

INFOBOX

Statistics for past several months

- May: 9 percent

- April: 8.

Schuylkill County Pennsylvania Military History: Schuylkill County ...

On the morning of September 18, 1863 Captain Heber Thompson of the Seventh Pa. Cavalry was ordered to lead a reconnaissance of 100 men toward Ringgold Ga. with orders to proceed to that place and make contact with Union General Granger. Before arriving at Ringgold Captain Thompson and his detachment met the confederate advance about three miles from Reed's Bridge on the Pea Vine Creek and fired into the rebel infantry and opened the famed battle of Chickamauga about 5:30 A.M. A Illinois regiment that was sent to burn the bridge noticed the body of a dead cavalry man and also his horse. The body was probably that of Owen Brennan, who was struck by a cannon ball while the regiment was charging Longstreet’s men on the other side of the bridge. Brennan was on horse back when he was struck; also John Ward was killed in this charge. Ward was a splendid horseman according to Sgt. Samuel Winn, and always took delight in breaking to the saddle spirited horses. The horse that Ward was mounted on this day was also a spirited animal and became excited while under fire and ran ahead of the detachment in the charge and John Ward was struck by a ball from a confederate sharpshooter. Both Ward and Brennan were from the west end of the county and are buried in the National Cemetery in Chattanooga. The Department of Defense, announced in January of this year, a program to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. The program intends to thank and honor veterans of the Vietnam War, including personnel who were held as prisoners of war or listed as missing in action, for their service and sacrifice on behalf of the United States and to thank and honor the families of these veterans. The Vietnam War is one of America’s longest wars surpassed recently by the current war in Afghanistan. The war in Vietnam’s length can be measured in many different ways. The formal beginning of U.S. involvement started in 1961 with American military advisors being sent to Vietnam. By the time the last U.S. ground combat troops were withdrawn in March 1973, the war had lasted 103 months. For me and many of my Vietnam Veteran brothers and sisters, it is hard to believe that the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War is being commemorated. For many of us veterans of the Vietnam War, we have a tendency to think of our lives in a different way than most people. We look at life before Vietnam and life after Vietnam. Before Vietnam, life for me was pretty simple and carefree.

Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, genealogy--family history--biography; containing historical sketches of old families and of representative and prominent citizens, past and present

Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, genealogy--family history--biography; containing historical sketches of old families and of representative and prominent citizens, past and present

Schuylkill County Pennsylvania, genealogy, family history, biography ; containing historical sketches of old families and of representative and prominent citizens past and present

Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania

History of Schuylkill County, Pa, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers