What does this measure?
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.
Why is this important?
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.
How does our county compare?
In 2024, there were 292,100 people in Lancaster County's labor force, a 0.1% decrease from the previous year. Lancaster County's labor force was larger than most neighboring counties, except Chester, which is slightly higher, at 302,400. Between 2000 and 2024, Lancaster County's labor force increased by 16%, slightly lower than the nation (18%) but twice as large as Pennsylvania's 8% increase. Of neighboring counties, Berks (12%) had the lowest growth rate, while Chester (28%) had the highest, followed by Cumberland (23%). The other counties had growth rates ranging from 13%-15%.
In 2024, there were 29,900 people in the City of Lancaster labor force, a 0.3% decrease from the previous year, and 13% growth since 2000.
Notes about the data
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.
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 0.3% | 1.3% | 0.6% | -0.9% | 1.0% | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.9% | 1.6% | -0.8% | -1.1% | 0.4% | 1.2% | -0.3% | -0.3% | 0.7% | 0.7% | -0.4% | 0.3% | 0.9% | -1.1% | -1.2% | 0.7% | 1.4% | 0.2% |
| Lancaster County | 1.3% | 1.7% | 1.9% | -1.1% | 2.8% | 1.4% | -0.1% | 1.0% | 1.7% | -1.8% | -1.3% | -0.6% | 1.4% | 0.5% | 1.2% | 1.6% | 0.6% | 0.2% | 1.5% | 1.1% | -0.9% | -0.0% | 1.2% | 1.3% | -0.1% |
| Lancaster City | 3.1% | 0.9% | 1.2% | -2.1% | 1.7% | -0.2% | -1.4% | 0.1% | 1.1% | 0.1% | 1.3% | -1.2% | 0.7% | -0.4% | -0.3% | 0.6% | 12.4% | -0.3% | 0.7% | 0.5% | 1.4% | -2.4% | -1.5% | 0.5% | -0.3% |
| Berks County | 4.7% | 1.0% | 0.6% | -2.7% | 1.6% | 1.7% | 1.4% | 1.0% | 1.6% | -1.2% | 2.2% | 0.1% | 1.0% | -0.2% | 0.3% | 1.1% | 1.2% | -0.5% | 0.4% | 1.3% | -1.3% | -1.6% | 1.0% | 1.7% | 0.1% |
| Chester County | -1.8% | 2.4% | 1.6% | 0.5% | 1.5% | 2.5% | 2.8% | 1.5% | 2.5% | -2.2% | -0.2% | 0.3% | 1.3% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 1.5% | 1.3% | 0.1% | 0.8% | 1.6% | -2.1% | 1.2% | 3.2% | 2.0% | 0.0% |
| Cumberland County | -7.4% | 1.7% | 1.9% | -0.9% | 1.3% | 1.3% | 2.0% | 0.9% | 2.0% | -0.7% | -1.1% | 0.1% | 1.2% | 0.1% | 0.6% | 2.2% | 1.3% | 0.1% | 0.8% | 1.6% | -0.8% | 0.3% | 2.4% | 2.2% | 0.7% |
| Dauphin County | -6.6% | 1.1% | 1.5% | -1.5% | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.8% | 0.7% | 1.5% | -0.7% | 1.8% | 0.1% | 0.6% | -0.4% | -0.4% | 1.5% | 2.0% | 0.0% | 0.4% | 1.5% | 0.4% | -1.8% | 0.3% | 1.7% | 0.6% |
| Lebanon County | -2.9% | 2.6% | 1.6% | -0.3% | 3.3% | 2.0% | 1.5% | 1.4% | 1.6% | -0.8% | -4.5% | -0.2% | 1.7% | -0.2% | -0.5% | 0.2% | -2.1% | 0.0% | 1.2% | 1.6% | -0.1% | -0.4% | 0.6% | 3.1% | 0.4% |
| York County | 5.6% | 0.9% | -0.0% | -0.5% | 2.4% | 2.0% | 1.6% | 1.4% | 1.6% | -1.1% | 0.8% | 0.3% | 1.3% | -0.4% | -0.2% | 1.2% | 0.0% | -0.1% | 0.1% | 0.7% | -0.7% | -0.5% | 1.2% | 1.5% | 0.2% |
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 6,108,174 | 6,188,792 | 6,228,440 | 6,171,869 | 6,232,546 | 6,282,162 | 6,328,844 | 6,384,094 | 6,484,086 | 6,434,166 | 6,363,081 | 6,386,783 | 6,463,889 | 6,446,218 | 6,428,660 | 6,476,250 | 6,521,627 | 6,494,133 | 6,512,770 | 6,573,565 | 6,500,777 | 6,424,786 | 6,471,172 | 6,561,136 | 6,576,760 |
| Lancaster County | 251,436 | 255,830 | 260,802 | 257,896 | 265,236 | 268,873 | 268,477 | 271,212 | 275,901 | 271,002 | 267,345 | 265,724 | 269,361 | 270,794 | 273,932 | 278,296 | 280,063 | 280,738 | 284,859 | 287,916 | 285,363 | 285,250 | 288,709 | 292,333 | 292,143 |
| Lancaster City | 26,419 | 26,664 | 26,981 | 26,409 | 26,851 | 26,798 | 26,429 | 26,458 | 26,757 | 26,771 | 27,117 | 26,803 | 26,994 | 26,879 | 26,810 | 26,972 | 30,315 | 30,220 | 30,443 | 30,595 | 31,023 | 30,273 | 29,806 | 29,961 | 29,885 |
| Berks County | 195,319 | 197,301 | 198,434 | 193,159 | 196,291 | 199,689 | 202,436 | 204,369 | 207,545 | 204,970 | 209,557 | 209,821 | 211,829 | 211,476 | 212,068 | 214,329 | 216,981 | 215,988 | 216,867 | 219,641 | 216,768 | 213,244 | 215,434 | 219,027 | 219,283 |
| Chester County | 236,650 | 242,389 | 246,315 | 247,490 | 251,266 | 257,547 | 264,715 | 268,788 | 275,571 | 269,562 | 269,002 | 269,856 | 273,231 | 273,958 | 275,207 | 279,369 | 282,969 | 283,295 | 285,619 | 290,197 | 284,079 | 287,426 | 296,578 | 302,383 | 302,436 |
| Cumberland County | 114,197 | 116,112 | 118,358 | 117,316 | 118,810 | 120,391 | 122,766 | 123,917 | 126,449 | 125,567 | 124,165 | 124,302 | 125,848 | 125,939 | 126,727 | 129,461 | 131,108 | 131,212 | 132,249 | 134,356 | 133,335 | 133,772 | 136,929 | 139,987 | 140,940 |
| Dauphin County | 131,751 | 133,227 | 135,210 | 133,226 | 133,998 | 134,601 | 135,683 | 136,672 | 138,774 | 137,800 | 140,220 | 140,306 | 141,200 | 140,589 | 140,039 | 142,193 | 145,074 | 145,126 | 145,640 | 147,874 | 148,446 | 145,711 | 146,219 | 148,641 | 149,590 |
| Lebanon County | 64,372 | 66,031 | 67,076 | 66,882 | 69,104 | 70,457 | 71,528 | 72,559 | 73,727 | 73,154 | 69,889 | 69,769 | 70,951 | 70,817 | 70,482 | 70,658 | 69,193 | 69,199 | 70,001 | 71,087 | 71,022 | 70,741 | 71,135 | 73,323 | 73,609 |
| York County | 209,670 | 211,655 | 211,595 | 210,526 | 215,637 | 219,984 | 223,611 | 226,821 | 230,367 | 227,905 | 229,789 | 230,383 | 233,280 | 232,345 | 231,778 | 234,516 | 234,589 | 234,290 | 234,592 | 236,178 | 234,464 | 233,394 | 236,138 | 239,751 | 240,245 |
