The unemployment rate in southwestern Pennsylvania bounced back up to 4.1 percent in June after falling below 4 percent in May for the first time since the 1970s. But local unemployment is still lower than one year ago and the gap between the national rate and the rate in the region has narrowed. This June,... More
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Unemployment Up After Historic Month
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Job Growth Steady
Southwestern Pennsylvania experienced another month of steady job growth in June. The region added 11,700 jobs from June 2017 to June 2018—a 1.1 percent increase, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Pittsburgh isn’t the only region adding to its payrolls. All of Pittsburgh Today’s benchmark regions posted positive job growth in June. Detroit... More
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Region’s Demographics Changing
Southwestern Pennsylvania is starting to look more like the United States as the region’s population becomes more diverse, the latest U.S. Census Bureau estimates suggest. The demographic shifts are most significant in Allegheny County and the City of Pittsburgh, where the Asian and Hispanic populations have been on the rise. In the five-year period from... More
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Unemployment Falls Hard
Southwestern Pennsylvania hasn’t seen an unemployment rate this low since Richard Nixon was president, the Beatles announced they were breaking up and America was embroiled in the Vietnam War. The unemployment rate in the seven-county Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area fell from 5.0 percent in May 2017 to 3.9 percent in May 2018. “We haven’t seen... More
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Region Adds Jobs
Employers continue to add to their payrolls in southwestern Pennsylvania in May, although there are signs it might be slowing. The region added 12,800 jobs from May 2017 to May 2018—a 1.2 percent increase, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. “There’s been little bit of slowing over the growth rates that have registered... More
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Lower Unemployment, Smaller Labor Force
Unemployment fell in southwestern Pennsylvania in April compared to one year earlier, but the region’s labor force continues to shrink. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the seven-county Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area decreased from 5.2 percent in April 2017 to 4.3 percent in April 2018, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Within the... More
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2017 Was Good For Business
Information technology and robotics lead the region as the most active sectors for business deals and jobs in the Pittsburgh region, according to the 2017 Allegheny Conference on Community Development Business Investment Scorecard. The scorecard is an index which considers the number of new deals in the region, capital investment, and jobs created and retained... More
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Air: Good News And Bad
Falling ozone pollution levels have led southwestern Pennsylvania to be declared in “attainment” of the current federal health-based standard, a status that had eluded the region for decades. But at the same time, fine particulate pollution levels rose last year as a reminder of the air quality problems that linger in the region. Both ozone... More
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Local Wages Still Struggle To Compete
Wages in southwestern Pennsylvania have risen steadily in recent years. But the average local wage is lower in many occupations compared to peer regions. Average annual wages in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area trail the national average and benchmark average in all but four of 25 major occupation categories in 2017, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Wages... More