Behind The Times – Minority Workforce Participation


Minority Workforce Participation - Behind the Times

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Southwestern Pennsylvania’s decades-old recovery from the collapse of its industrial economy has long been recognized as nothing short of remarkable. More recently, other regions watched with envy as it proved resilient to the harshest consequences of recession.

“Pittsburgh’s transformation has captured the attention of other communities now confronted with economic crises of their own,” the Financial Times of London wrote in 2009 during the G20 Summit the city hosted. The Summit, the paper predicted, would “only highlight the city’s progress, signaling to cities such as Detroit and Cleveland that they can once again become vibrant.”

But such accolades ignore the lingering weakness of a regional workforce short on minority workers. In fact, Pittsburgh trails both Detroit and Cleveland when workforce diversity is the measure of progress and vibrancy.

The share of jobs held by African American, Asian and Hispanic workers in the southwestern Pennsylvania workforce is so small it ranks last among 15 U.S. metropolitan regions benchmarked by Pittsburgh Today and a coalition of organizations convened by the nonprofit Vibrant Pittsburgh to explore regional solutions to diversity issues.

Workforce participation by minority subgroups in Pittsburgh - Behind the Times

African American, Asian and Hispanic workers hold 11 percent of the jobs in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area, according to 2013 data from the U.S. Census Bureau Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) program’s Quarterly Workforce Indicators, which includes wage and employment data reported by employers covering 98 percent of U.S. jobs.

Minority workers claim an average of 25 percent of the jobs throughout all 15 benchmark regions. In Detroit, minorities hold 24 percent of the jobs – a rate slightly lower than the benchmark average, but more than double the rate reported in the Pittsburgh MSA. In Cleveland, minorities hold 21 percent.

In nearby Baltimore, minorities claim 37 percent of the jobs – a share that is more than three times greater than what minority workers in the Pittsburgh MSA have been able to claim. In Atlanta, minority workers account for 44 percent of the jobs, which stands as the most diverse workforce of any benchmark region.

Employers find a smaller minority population to hire from in southwestern Pennsylvania, where 86.4 percent of the region’s general population is white. In fact, minorities in the Pittsburgh MSA claim a smaller share of the population than they do in any of the 14 peer regions.

Share of jobs held by minority workers by MSA - Behind the Times

Even so, data suggest local minorities find it tougher to get jobs compared to those living in peer regions. Rates of employment within the region’s African American, Asian and Hispanic adult populations all fall below benchmark averages, according to 2013 U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey data.

Southwestern Pennsylvania has seen the overall share of jobs held by minority workers rise 2 percent since 2002, which is the average rate of growth seen across the 15 benchmark regions.

“Diversity begets diversity,”says Melanie Harrington, president and chief executive officer of Vibrant Pittsburgh. “Part of the challenge of becoming more diverse is our current lack of diversity.”

Racial & Ethnic Differences

Nearly 63 percent of white adults are participating in the southwestern Pennsylvania labor force. And they hold 89 percent of the jobs in the region. No subgroup of minority workers comes close to rivaling the share of jobs held by whites. Hispanic and Asian workers, for example, each hold 2 percent of the jobs in the region.

Workforce participation by minority subgroups in peer regions - Behind the Times

However, higher rates of labor force participation are seen within the Hispanic and Asian adult populations.

Some 67 percent of the region’s Asian adult population is engaged in the labor force, which is the highest participation rate of any racial and ethnic group. Asians make up 2 percent of the general population. Hispanic residents account for 1.5 percent of the general population of the region. Nearly 65 percent of Hispanic adults are in the workforce.

African Americans are the largest minority group in the region, making up 8.2 percent of the general population. An estimated 59 percent of African American adults are in the regional labor force. They hold 7 percent of the jobs.

Differences among minority workers are also seen in the kinds of jobs they tend to work and the incomes they earn. In some cases, the differences are significant.


Behind the Times: The Limited Role of Minorities in the Greater Pittsburgh Workforce

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