TradeAtlas · Trade Market Report

Pennsylvania

Data through June 2026Published August 2026Digest g0.1 · Provisional

Compiled from BLS, Census, Indeed Hiring Lab. Government statistics publish on a lag, so the latest month shown trails the calendar; every figure carries its own “data through” date.

This is the most recent edition. Newer government data for this state has not been published yet.

This month

Hiring and the pipeline are moving in opposite directions: employment fell 0.6% while permits rose 8.4%. Employment is still contracting even as new permitted work builds up behind it. BLS · Census Electrical is the tightest trade in Pennsylvania this month, with a Trade Demand Index of 60.8. TDI Job postings across all industries in Pennsylvania fell 5.9% year over year. Indeed Hiring Lab

01 · Indicators

Construction employment
261,700
−0.6% YoY
BLS · Jun 2026
Building permits
2,205
+8.4% YoY
Census · Jun 2026
Unemployment
4.1%
−4.7% YoY
BLS · Jun 2026
Job postings index
95.9
−5.9% YoY
Indeed Hiring Lab · Jun 2026

02 · Tightest trades in Pennsylvania

Explore every trade and state →
#TradeIndexVs. 50 states
1Electrical60.8Balanced
2Flooring58.9Tightening
3General Contracting54.2Balanced
4HVAC53.0Balanced
5Plumbing51.9Balanced
6Garage Doors49.8Tightening
7Windows & Doors49.2Balanced
8Fire Protection47.2Tightening
9Concrete & Masonry45.8Balanced
10Solar41.4Tightening
11Painting39.7Balanced
12Pool & Spa39.6Balanced
13Roofing37.0Balanced
14Appliance Repair36.7Tightening
15Fencing33.5Balanced
16Insulation30.7Surplus
17Landscaping28.9Balanced
18Locksmith27.7Tightening
19Pest Control27.2Surplus
20Cleaning & Restoration25.7Balanced

Index 0–100, methodology v0.2 · Band is this state’s percentile among the 50 states for that trade · Wages adjusted by BEA regional price parity

03 · Desks

Jobs

Open roles and hiring momentum in this market.

Pennsylvania in the Trade Demand Index →
Projects

Federal construction awards and permit activity.

Coming in a later edition
Policy

Licensing, wage and safety rules changing in this state.

Contractor licensing by state →
Companies

Contractors active in this market.

Company directory →
Sources in this edition
  • BLS · Construction employment, seasonally adjusted (BLS CES, via FRED) · through 2026-06
  • Census · Private housing units authorized by permit (Census BPS, via FRED) · through 2026-06
  • BLS · Unemployment rate (BLS LAUS, via FRED) · through 2026-06
  • Indeed Hiring Lab · Job-postings index, all sectors (Indeed Hiring Lab, CC BY 4.0) · through 2026-06
  • TradeAtlas · Trade Demand Index, methodology v0.2 — how it is built
Colophon

This product uses the FRED® API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. This product uses Census Bureau data but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau. Employment and unemployment data are published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Job-postings data © Indeed Hiring Lab, CC BY 4.0. Every sentence above is a fixed template filled from those series; the numbers behind each one are published with it. The report is TradeAtlas’s own derivative product; no source named here endorses it.

Edition 2026-06 · digest g0.1 · computed 2026-08-25