Growth or decline in the total number of people available for work, including currently employed individuals, unemployed individuals, and individuals able to work but not actively seeking work at the time.
The size of the labor force is an indicator of people's willingness and ability to find work. In a period of rapid economic growth, a larger share of the population (including teens, second earners in a family, and elders) will find roles in the workforce. The statistic indicates the health of an economy, particularly when considered along with the unemployment rate, which measures the proportion of the workforce that lacks jobs, but is seeking work.
In 2017, there were 212,100 people in Berks County's labor force, down 0.6% from the previous year. Berks County's labor force was larger than in neighboring Lebanon, Lehigh and Schuylkill counties, but smaller than Chester, Lancaster and Montgomery counties. Between 2000 and 2017, Berks County's labor force grew 9%, an increase larger than Pennsylvania, at 5%, but smaller than the nation at 12%. Three neighboring counties experienced larger gains than Berks did - Chester (19%), Lancaster (11%) and Lehigh (16%). Montgomery and Lebanon saw increases in their labor forces that were similar to Berks, while Schuylkill declined 6%.
County-level estimates are based on relatively small samples, and the true number may vary considerably from the estimate. Data for this indicator are released annually in April.
There may be additional research available on this topic. Click on Reports and Resources to learn more.
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | N/A | 1.2% | 0.6% | -0.8% | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 1.7% | -0.8% | -0.3% | 0.2% | 1.1% | -0.3% | -0.7% | 0.4% | 0.5% | -0.4% |
| Berks County | N/A | 0.9% | 0.6% | -2.5% | 1.3% | 1.5% | 1.3% | 0.9% | 1.7% | -1.3% | 3.1% | 0.0% | 0.8% | -0.2% | -0.2% | 0.7% | 0.4% | -0.6% |
| Berks County Regions | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Reading city | ||||||||||||||||||
| Berks County Peers | ||||||||||||||||||
| Chester County | N/A | 2.3% | 1.6% | 0.6% | 1.2% | 2.3% | 2.8% | 1.5% | 2.6% | -2.2% | 0.5% | 0.2% | 1.1% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 1.2% | 1.2% | 0.3% |
| Lancaster County | N/A | 1.6% | 1.9% | -1.0% | 2.5% | 1.2% | -0.2% | 0.9% | 1.8% | -1.8% | -0.6% | -0.8% | 1.2% | 0.5% | 0.8% | 1.2% | 1.4% | 0.1% |
| Lebanon County | N/A | 2.4% | 1.6% | -0.1% | 3.0% | 1.8% | 1.5% | 1.3% | 1.7% | -0.8% | -3.7% | -0.3% | 1.5% | -0.2% | -0.9% | -0.1% | 0.8% | -0.1% |
| Lehigh County | N/A | 1.9% | 0.7% | 0.2% | 0.6% | 1.3% | 2.0% | 0.9% | 1.8% | -0.3% | -0.7% | 1.3% | 1.9% | 0.2% | -0.1% | 1.5% | 1.8% | -0.2% |
| Montgomery County | N/A | 2.0% | 0.9% | -0.4% | -0.2% | 0.7% | 1.0% | 0.7% | 1.9% | -3.0% | 1.2% | -0.0% | 1.2% | 0.0% | 0.2% | 1.0% | 1.5% | 0.3% |
| Schuylkill County | N/A | -0.1% | -0.1% | -0.9% | 0.7% | 0.9% | 1.4% | 2.8% | 1.2% | -0.8% | -4.4% | -0.9% | 1.3% | -1.0% | -1.8% | -1.2% | -0.9% | -1.9% |
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 6,106,892 | 6,178,617 | 6,218,643 | 6,170,359 | 6,213,778 | 6,251,402 | 6,294,504 | 6,342,997 | 6,451,535 | 6,400,263 | 6,380,949 | 6,395,506 | 6,462,939 | 6,442,411 | 6,396,041 | 6,420,702 | 6,452,812 | 6,427,370 |
| Berks County | 195,287 | 196,976 | 198,134 | 193,110 | 195,697 | 198,712 | 201,350 | 203,068 | 206,505 | 203,891 | 210,144 | 210,158 | 211,794 | 211,343 | 211,004 | 212,498 | 213,262 | 212,082 |
| Berks County Regions | ||||||||||||||||||
| Central | ||||||||||||||||||
| Northeast | ||||||||||||||||||
| South | ||||||||||||||||||
| Southeast | ||||||||||||||||||
| West | ||||||||||||||||||
| Reading city | ||||||||||||||||||
| Berks County Peers | ||||||||||||||||||
| Chester County | 236,657 | 242,002 | 245,876 | 247,448 | 250,462 | 256,305 | 263,375 | 267,222 | 274,238 | 268,122 | 269,534 | 270,047 | 272,976 | 273,546 | 273,880 | 277,062 | 280,415 | 281,136 |
| Lancaster County | 251,460 | 255,424 | 260,329 | 257,851 | 264,391 | 267,575 | 267,104 | 269,595 | 274,555 | 269,564 | 268,009 | 265,997 | 269,189 | 270,471 | 272,597 | 275,981 | 279,894 | 280,293 |
| Lebanon County | 64,373 | 65,926 | 66,956 | 66,870 | 68,885 | 70,117 | 71,166 | 72,124 | 73,369 | 72,763 | 70,061 | 69,836 | 70,907 | 70,739 | 70,133 | 70,063 | 70,599 | 70,550 |
| Lehigh County | 163,039 | 166,059 | 167,288 | 167,631 | 168,571 | 170,760 | 174,194 | 175,800 | 178,950 | 178,430 | 177,192 | 179,493 | 182,868 | 183,305 | 183,072 | 185,778 | 189,074 | 188,781 |
| Montgomery County | 410,178 | 418,261 | 422,025 | 420,500 | 419,558 | 422,571 | 426,868 | 430,052 | 438,010 | 425,087 | 430,378 | 430,366 | 435,595 | 435,621 | 436,596 | 440,895 | 447,537 | 448,710 |
| Schuylkill County | 70,184 | 70,146 | 70,070 | 69,460 | 69,970 | 70,578 | 71,572 | 73,592 | 74,496 | 73,928 | 70,688 | 70,052 | 70,983 | 70,245 | 68,984 | 68,186 | 67,579 | 66,298 |
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