At a shale gas conference in Pittsburgh Thursday, Gov. Tom Corbett defended his policies promoting drilling in the state, and defended his own math, too.
Corbett, who is running for re-election, said drilling under his watch was responsible for a vast economic lift to the state. "More than 200,000 jobs have either been created, made more prosperous or made more secure" by the drilling boom brought on by fracking in Pennsylvania.
“That number of course seems to bother some out there," said Corbett.
The governor was referring to economists who pointed out to State Impact PA that many of those jobs are only indirectly related to the shale industry and would exist regardless of the shale boom.
Although the 200,000 number comes from a state jobs report, it said direct jobs in the industry are really around 30,000. Corbett floated a new name for people who questioned the jobs impact of shale — 'economic development deniers'.
Read more of this report on the website of our partner The Allegheny Front.
