Extended unemployment benefits will end soon for Pennyslvania residents because the state's jobless rate has continued to drop.

Numbers released Tuesday by the state Department of Labor and Industry show Pennsylvania's unemployment rate was 7.5 percent in March, continuing a slow and steady decline from 7.9 percent a year earlier.

Beginning May 12, extended benefits will expire and those who are still jobless will only receive 26 weeks of state-funded benefits and 47 weeks of federally-funded benefits, said Christopher Manlove, a spokesman for the state Department of Labor and Industry.

Until next weekend, unemployed Pennsylvanians have received 26 weeks of state benefits, 47 weeks of federal benefits and an extended 13 weeks of federal benefits, he said.

But the week ending May 12 is the last in which the state's jobless can claim that extra help.

The change will affect about 30,000 people statewide.

But the number of York County residents losing the extended benefits is unclear, as the state is still working on a county-by-county breakdown, Manlove said.

York County's unemployment rate also dipped from 7.4 in February to 7.1 percent in March, according to numbers released Tuesday by the state Department of Labor and Industry.

York County's jobless rate is now the lowest it's been since the eve of the recession.

- Reach Candy Woodall at 505-5437 or cwoodall@yorkdispatch.com.