Pennsylvania is doing slightly below average when it comes to economic performance. That's according to left-leaning policy group Keystone Research Center, based in Harrisburg. Center economist Stephen Herzenberg noted that job growth, thus far in 2014, is better than 2013.
"It's not yet back at the 2010 rate of job growth per month, in addition, even in July, Pennsylvania is still 20,000 jobs short of the December 2007 number. Another qualifier is we've also not had any new jobs created to absorb the additions to the labor force," Herzenberg said. "The population in the state has grown almost 4 percent since 2007. We'd need roughly 220,000 to soak up those folks."
He also said that unemployment has fallen to 5.7 percent which compares favorably with the national rate of 6.2 percent. The report ranked Pennsylvania against the other 49 states in four categories: job growth, unemployment/underemployment, wages and income, and economic growth.
Mark Price, the center's labor economist, said that while the unemployment rate is looking up, the state falls short when it comes to a underemployment. Price describes underemployment as a measure of those who are available for work but are not looking because they believe no jobs are available for them.
Underemployment is also an indicator of those who are employed part-time. Price said the state ranks 38th when it comes to this category.
"And that actually makes a bit of sense when you look back at job growth in Pennsylvania," Price said. "It's not been terribly strong so people have been struggling to find enough work. And we've also seen a lot — up until recently — the strength in Pennsylvania's jobs has come from a sector like leisure and hospitality which is not a sector that provides a lot of full time employment."
The report goes on to rank Pennsylvania 32nd in median income, and in economic growth the state came in 31st for consumption and expenditures and 30th in growth in per capita GDP (those data spanned the years 2010 to 2012). In summation the report gave the state a slightly below average ranking in three areas and near the bottom in another.
How Pennsylvania stacks up, according to the "State of Working PA" report:
- Job growth: 47th
- Unemployment: 23rd
- Unemployment subcategory underemployment: 38th
- Median earnings: 32nd
- Economic growth: Consumption/expenditures: 31st; Growth in per capita GDP: 30th
The full report can be found here.
