Is It True That Pittsburgh is Among The Healthiest Job Markets in USA? (taxes)

[Egyptian2009]

Hi All ,According to Many rankings , Pittsburg has a healthy job market and is considered an easy place to find a job compared to rest of the natin . Those rankings are based upon its low unemployment and positive job growth. When it come to real , do you see it easy to find a job in pittsburgh in general either service jobs or clerical and administrative jobs?Thanks a lot

[ferraris]

Finding a job is pretty easy here; finding a well paying career is a different story. Since you're targeting service and clerical jobs, I don't think you'll have any trouble finding a job at all so long as you truly want one and don't mind putting in some effort submitting applications.

[Bizowner00]

It will be interesting as the nation's economy starts to make a turn for the better to see if the Pittsburgh economy will stay ahead or even keep up with the national economy. The last few months have not been good for Pittsburgh nor the state. A steady decline in jobs and steady rise in the unemployment number. The relative upside of Pittsburgh's economy the past few years has been measured against a terrible national economy. Higher buisness taxes and cost's here in PA will only slow our attempt to keep up with what should be a national improving economy. Watch for Charlotte to go after the image of 'energy capitol' of the east or nation as Duke power and the reserach triangle form a very developed energy allianace and agenda. Something Pittsburgh supporters have suggested but have not developed as a true strategy. We will learn soon if Pittsburgh has the leadership and local govenrment wit to really turn things around.

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by Bizowner00

A steady decline in jobs and steady rise in the unemployment number.

That's just not so for the Pittsburgh region. The number of jobs has increased slightly, but the labor force has grown faster.

Troubling Pittsburgh unemployment data buck national trend - Pittsburgh Unemployment | Examiner.com

[BrianTH]

The Pittsburgh jobs count has been up year-over-year in every month this year, and in fact in every month since May 2010. That period of jobs growth counts as robust by general standards (particularly for an area without a lot of natural/immigrant population growth), not just in relation to the rest of the nation. And in fact it really began back in 2006, but was interrupted by the recession (which seemed to start affecting jobs here starting in late 2008).

You can get the data supporting these propositions here:

Bureau of Labor Statistics Data

I think the best read of this data is that Pittsburgh is actually in the midst of a structural increase in jobs, which could continue indefinitely regardless of the national economic cycle (although I offer no guarantees). In fact, it is not that different from the job growth the region experienced from 1993 through 2001, although the causes probably can't be identical (e.g., I believe in that period we were still experiencing increasing female employment participation, which I believe has largely leveled out--but that is from memory so take it with a grain of salt).

What the national economic cycle did is briefly depress this structural increase, and in turn maybe led to a subsequent above-trend acceleration during the early stages of the recovery, but we currently seem to be settling into basically the same sort of trend we were experiencing immediately before the recession, and in fact before the dot-com recession and early housing bubble period.

[PITairport]

Originally Posted by Bizowner00

Watch for Charlotte to go after the image of 'energy capitol' of the east or nation as Duke power and the reserach triangle form a very developed energy allianace and agenda. Something Pittsburgh supporters have suggested but have not developed as a true strategy.

Isn't that what the Energy Alliance of Greater Pittsburgh is?

[globalburgh]

Charlotte is grasping at gimmicks. That regional economy is in the crapper.

[BrianTH]

"Energy capitals" tend to emerge where the energy in question is actually being produced. I am very skeptical of the notion that marketing, research, and other non-fundamental strategies can modify that pattern, as opposed to trailing along as part of the overall effect.

[Copanut]

I've lived here all my life and never been outta work n'at.

But, I've been lucky, to be sure.