Is samatha meditation more suited to lay people than vipassana? Does the Piti Sutta imply that it is better for lay people to start with cultivation of jhana through samatha meditation, instead of starting with vipassana meditation?

Also, the use of the term "piti" (rapture) seems to encourage lay people to enter and master the first jhana.

From the Piti Sutta (AN 5.176):


  Then Anathapindika the householder, surrounded by about 500 lay
  followers, went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down
  to him, sat to one side. As he was sitting there the Blessed One said
  to him, “Householder, you have provided the community of monks with
  robes, alms food, lodgings, &amp; medicinal requisites for the sick, but
  you shouldn’t rest content with the thought, ‘We have provided the
  community of monks with robes, alms food, lodgings, &amp; medicinal
  requisites for the sick.’ So you should train yourself, ‘Let’s
  periodically enter &amp; remain in seclusion &amp; rapture.’ That’s how you
  should train yourself.”
Can't conclude a lot from the sutta but accrding to my personal experience as a lay buddhist,


Vipassana needs higher levels of concentration and mindfulness.
Instructions for Vipassana are little bit more complicated and difficult to follow than Samatha.
Vipassana involves using the mind to sense the bodily feelings. Mind usually wanders.
Learning Vipassana for first time requires a 10 day commitment to a retreat. But Samatha meditation can be learned at a days retreat. 


So I will say, yes. Samatha meditation more suited to lay people than Vipassana.