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September rate of 9.7% was higher than in Pa. or nation, but lower than August locally.

For the first time since April, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area declined, dropping by one-tenth of a percentage point to 9.7 percent in September.

Timothy Kearney, an assistant professor of business at Misericordia University who holds a Ph.D. in economics, said what had been a steady climb toward the 10 percent mark has been derailed and likely won’t resume. “I think we’re at the peak of the unemployment rate,” Kearney said.

He said the 2.5 percent national gross domestic product gain posted in the third quarter is a strong sign that there will not be a “double-dip recession.” He said while it might not mean immediate large drops in unemployment, continuing to “tread water” will eventually turn hiring positive.

The local jobless numbers were influenced by two early September occurrences – one common, one not so much. Schools were back in session, meaning more than 1,900 jobs were added to the rolls once ancillary positions such as support staff, bus drivers and cafeteria workers were rehired.

But the flooding that gripped parts of the Luzerne, Wyoming and Lackawanna counties region also caused a dip in retail trade as many stores were closed after being flooded, including major employers such as Redner’s Warehouse Market and Kmart, both in Edwardsville. The retail jobs sector declined 700 jobs from August and is down 500 year to year.

Though construction, contractor and other jobs were likely created by the flooding, the unemployment rate decline would likely have been greater had the flood event not occurred, said Anthony Liuzzo, director of the master of business administration program at Wilkes University.

Liuzzo said the flooding led to even more people in the area becoming financially strapped and that their lack of available spending power will likely lead to a more pessimistic view of the economy locally.

Once again the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton region had the highest unemployment rate in Pennsylvania, registering the only rate at or above 9 percent.

But the region bucked the overall state trend in September.

The state’s unemployment rate increased one-tenth of a percentage point to 8.3 percent, while the nation’s rate remained unchanged at 9.1 percent.