Pennsylvania employment at all-time high (York, Columbia: 2015, home, income)

[Craziaskowboi]

The previous high of 5,825,000 in April 2008 was actually passed in December 2014, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 5,825,500 jobs, but it's since gone even higher, with 5,829,200 jobs in the Commonwealth in February, which is an increase of 73,100 jobs over February 2014. The private sector was fully recovered by April 2014, actually, but a loss of 53,600 government jobs since April 2008 delayed the new employment peak by eight months.

Among economic peer states, Pennsylvania's employment performance has been above average. Only New York had a faster recovery in employment than Pennsylvania, passing its pre-recession peak in September 2012. Otherwise, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey and Ohio still haven't fully recovered. New Jersey is still 98,100 jobs below its peak in January 2008. Illinois, Michigan and Ohio are in even worse shape, with none of the three even recovering from the early 2000s recession, let alone the most recent one. Illinois is still 142,500 jobs below its peak in August 2000. Michigan is still 443,500 jobs below its peak in April 2000. Ohio is still 249,000 jobs below its peak in May 2000.

[Duderino]

Great news! As always, thanks for your superb economic analysis. Pennsylvania certainly hadn't been setting the world on fire the past couple of years, but--especially now that the era of budget austerity is over--it seems like more solid growth is spreading across the state. Monthly metro/micro area jobs numbers were released today, too: Table 3. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by state and metropolitan area

[pman]

Are those economic peers doing well overall or are we comparing ourselves to the bottom of the barrel?

[KevinE]

Mostly truck drivers

[StAcKhOuSe]

its all low wage crappy paying jobs.

hardly a cause for celebration with the state's low paying positions in general, combined with a regressive tax structure. occupational privilege tax? really?

[Duderino]

Considering that approximately 33,000 of the new PA jobs year-over-year (as of Feb. 2015) were in either Professional & Business Services or Education and Health Services, that is a pretty good indication that a healthy portion of these jobs are in well-paying sectors.

Facts are your friend: Employment, Hours, and Earnings from the Current Employment Statistics survey (State & Metro Area) Home Page

[Craziaskowboi]

Originally Posted by StAcKhOuSe

its all low wage crappy paying jobs.

The median household income in Pennsylvania was $53,952 in 2013, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. That ranks 22nd of all states plus the District of Columbia.

Keep taking the blue pill if you must, though.

[airwave09]

Originally Posted by Craziaskowboi

The private sector was fully recovered by April 2014, actually, but a loss of 53,600 government jobs since April 2008 delayed the new employment peak by eight months.

Now there's a perfect example of addition by subtraction.

[fisheye]

How many people do you know that just got a job or just got a raise? I don't mean people that were brought into our state just for the job or companies that outsource to temp workers. Yes temp workers are working; but without benefits. Does that mean that we are better off than we were before? These statistics mean very little today; we have changed the criteria many times over the years. It is very hard to take these seriously when that is not what we see in the 'real' world. Yes there are some times that are better than others - but the 'average' worker continues to lose ground.

[Duderino]

Originally Posted by fisheye

How many people do you know that just got a job or just got a raise? I don't mean people that were brought into our state just for the job or companies that outsource to temp workers. Yes temp workers are working; but without benefits. Does that mean that we are better off than we were before? These statistics mean very little today; we have changed the criteria many times over the years. It is very hard to take these seriously when that is not what we see in the 'real' world. Yes there are some times that are better than others - but the 'average' worker continues to lose ground.

The fact that jobs are being added is definitely meaningful -- it signals economic growth.

Raises are also occurring, but I agree that it is important to balance this against inflation. There are reports that inflation is growing pretty slowly (Inflation starting to move in right direction - CBS News). More significant raises are often tied to tighter labor markets (i.e., higher competition for talent). And so as unemployment continues to go down, and it definitely is, it's reasonable to expect an increase in wages.