Data / Unemployed people / Wilkes-Barre, PA

Unemployed people in Wilkes-Barre, PA

Unemployed people in Wilkes-Barre, PA was 1,056 in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is up 13.7% from 2024. That is the 11th highest of 25 cities in 2025.

2025, persons1,056
Change on 2024+13.7%
Rank11th of 25Cities in Pennsylvania ranked
Series high2,5632020
Series low9292024

Next release: Wednesday, 28 October 2026, 10:00 ET, announced by BLS. Release calendar

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Unemployed people in Wilkes-Barre, PA, 1990 to 2025

5001,0001,5002,0002,5003,00019901996200220082014202020251990: 1,694 persons1991: 1,950 persons1992: 2,152 persons1993: 1,958 persons1994: 1,903 persons1995: 1,810 persons1996: 1,580 persons1997: 1,929 persons1998: 1,231 persons1999: 1,319 persons2000: 1,097 persons2001: 1,163 persons2002: 1,351 persons2003: 1,366 persons2004: 1,291 persons2005: 1,212 persons2006: 1,168 persons2007: 1,099 persons2008: 1,321 persons2009: 1,860 persons2010: 1,971 persons2011: 2,031 persons2012: 2,061 persons2013: 1,921 persons2014: 1,585 persons2015: 1,394 persons2016: 1,383 persons2017: 1,320 persons2018: 1,267 persons2019: 1,259 persons2020: 2,563 persons2021: 1,740 persons2022: 1,068 persons2023: 974 persons2024: 929 persons2025: 1,056 persons5001,0001,5002,0002,5003,00019902002201420251990: 1,694 persons1991: 1,950 persons1992: 2,152 persons1993: 1,958 persons1994: 1,903 persons1995: 1,810 persons1996: 1,580 persons1997: 1,929 persons1998: 1,231 persons1999: 1,319 persons2000: 1,097 persons2001: 1,163 persons2002: 1,351 persons2003: 1,366 persons2004: 1,291 persons2005: 1,212 persons2006: 1,168 persons2007: 1,099 persons2008: 1,321 persons2009: 1,860 persons2010: 1,971 persons2011: 2,031 persons2012: 2,061 persons2013: 1,921 persons2014: 1,585 persons2015: 1,394 persons2016: 1,383 persons2017: 1,320 persons2018: 1,267 persons2019: 1,259 persons2020: 2,563 persons2021: 1,740 persons2022: 1,068 persons2023: 974 persons2024: 929 persons2025: 1,056 persons
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12, published 2026-09-30.
All 36 values
Periodpersons
20251,056
2024929
2023974
20221,068
20211,740
20202,563
20191,259
20181,267
20171,320
20161,383
20151,394
20141,585
20131,921
20122,061
20112,031
20101,971
20091,860
20081,321
20071,099
20061,168
20051,212
20041,291
20031,366
20021,351
20011,163
20001,097
19991,319
19981,231
19971,929
19961,580
19951,810
19941,903
19931,958
19922,152
19911,950
19901,694

Rankings

Definition

Residents with no job who were available for work and had looked for work in the previous four weeks, or were waiting to be recalled from a layoff, annual average.

More on how it is measured
  • People aged 16 and over by place of residence, from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  • Active-duty military personnel and people living in institutions are excluded.

United States cities only for now. The survey definition, not a count of benefit claimants. BLS estimates cities by splitting county estimates with Census Bureau employment and population data and unemployment insurance claims, so city figures are less precise than state ones. BLS publishes cities of 25,000 or more, and smaller cities in New England.

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How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average (Unemployed people, Wilkes-Barre, PA, 1990 to 2025) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29

MLA 9

Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average, Unemployed people, Wilkes-Barre, PA, 1990 to 2025. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30 Sept. 2026, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/unemployed-people/wilkes-barre-pa. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Unemployed people, Wilkes-Barre, PA, 1990 to 2025. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/unemployed-people/wilkes-barre-pa.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average, Unemployed people, Wilkes-Barre, PA, 1990 to 2025 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/unemployed-people/wilkes-barre-pa (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_unemployed_people_wilkes_barre_2025,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average: Unemployed people, Wilkes-Barre, PA, 1990 to 2025}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/unemployed-people/wilkes-barre-pa. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average: Unemployed people, Wilkes-Barre, PA, 1990 to 2025
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29
L2  - https://invokely.ai/en/unemployed-people/wilkes-barre-pa
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/unemployed-people/wilkes-barre-pa.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

What is the unemployed people in Wilkes-Barre, PA?

Unemployed people in Wilkes-Barre, PA was 1,056 in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is up 13.7% from 2024. That is the 11th highest of 25 cities in 2025.

Where does this figure come from?

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-12.

What was the highest unemployed people in Wilkes-Barre, PA?

2,563 in 2020, the highest value since 1990 in this series.

Unemployed people elsewhere in Pennsylvania

Related statistics for Wilkes-Barre, PA

All statistics for Wilkes-Barre, PA | Wilkes-Barre, PA in figures