LESS than anemic job growth for region, #84/90 (Pittsburgh, Allentown: unemployment rate, neighborhoods)

[Charley Barker]

I tried drilling down on the BLS website, but there was no ability to do that as far as I could find. I am not sure that it matters much. It seems to me that the city (300K) and the county (1.1mil) are about 15% and 50% of the metro so what happens in those two areas is, literally only half the story. I don't know. I think if the area doesn't get out of the "city vs. the rest" mentality, there can never be a consensus on how to address the underlying issues.

Anyone remember that debt counter someone put up years ago, I think in NYC, that ticked up every time the federal deficit increased? We can post theses numbers on the ugly billboard on Mt. Washington (the one formerly advertising Sprint). Maybe that's what it will take to get the attention of the grandees in this town.

[Moby Hick]

Jobs were growing just fine in this region when we had President Obama. Maybe the problem isn't local and Mr. Pittsburgh Not Paris doesn't have any idea what he's doing or is telling lies to workers while only helping other billionaires.

[Mtl-Cns]

Originally Posted by Charley Barker

I think if the area doesn't get out of the "city vs. the rest" mentality, there can never be a consensus on how to address the underlying issues.

I'm on your side of that point and am not trying to instigate such an argument; that said, I asked if anyone had seen that data because I think it's important to fully understand the data and where the regions strengths and weaknesses lie in reference to this problem so that the underlying issues can be addressed.

[SteelCityRising]

I will say for an area with supposedly anemic economic growth these high-end apartments and condos are being leased and sold, respectively, almost as rapidly as they're being built. Additionally my neighborhood, which supposedly is poor, is replete with BMW's.

Are Pittsburghers living way beyond their means (bubble), or is there something wrong with these statistics?

Is it also possible the city and Allegheny County are just doing VERY well right now while Fayette, Westmoreland, and Washington Counties aren't doing so hot?

[Charley Barker]

Originally Posted by Moby Hick

Jobs were growing just fine in this region when we had President Obama. Maybe the problem isn't local and Mr. Pittsburgh Not Paris doesn't have any idea what he's doing or is telling lies to workers while only helping other billionaires.

Maybe true. But that doesn't change the order of ranking (84 of 90). There's lots of metros growing at 2-4%, which is a lot year-to-year at this point in the current expansion. It seems to me that this slow growth has been a problem for the past 3-4 years from what I read. Maybe it is the Orange Man???? We're getting off topic. . . . ;-)

[gladhands]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I will say for an area with supposedly anemic economic growth these high-end apartments and condos are being leased and sold, respectively, almost as rapidly as they're being built. Additionally my neighborhood, which supposedly is poor, is replete with BMW's.

Are Pittsburghers living way beyond their means (bubble), or is there something wrong with these statistics?

Is it also possible the city and Allegheny County are just doing VERY well right now while Fayette, Westmoreland, and Washington Counties aren't doing so hot?

The city, north hills and southern Butler County are doing well.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by gladhands

The city, north hills and southern Butler County are doing well.

I guess Allegheny County and Butler County are doing well---but not well enough to fully counteract all the sharting of the bed going on in Westmoreland, Fayette, Armstrong, Beaver (sans the cracker plant), and Washington Counties.

[erieguy]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I will say for an area with supposedly anemic economic growth these high-end apartments and condos are being leased and sold, respectively, almost as rapidly as they're being built. Additionally my neighborhood, which supposedly is poor, is replete with BMW's.

Are Pittsburghers living way beyond their means (bubble), or is there something wrong with these statistics?

Is it also possible the city and Allegheny County are just doing VERY well right now while Fayette, Westmoreland, and Washington Counties aren't doing so hot?

Who/what says your area is supposedly poor?

[Charley Barker]

Originally Posted by Mtl-Cns

I'm on your side of that point and am not trying to instigate such an argument; that said, I asked if anyone had seen that data because I think it's important to fully understand the data and where the regions strengths and weaknesses lie in reference to this problem so that the underlying issues can be addressed.

Oh, sorry. That wasn't directed to you at all. It's just something I have observed since we moved here, both in the media and in my experience. My point is that you can improve the city and county, but that's only one side of the coin. Don't get me wrong. As someone who enjoys culture and the outdoors equally, I love the city AND the outlying areas and spend a lot of time in both. But in general, I don't think there is a lot of mixing of people and opinions between the two. Probably not unique to this area, but when the issues and impacts are regional (see previous post on funding and political representation, not to mention perception), our leaders need to pull together, not apart.

[Charley Barker]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I guess Allegheny County and Butler County are doing well---but not well enough to fully counteract all the sharting of the bed going on in Westmoreland, Fayette, Armstrong, Beaver (sans the cracker plant), and Washington Counties.

I know it's not exactly the same as the job growth metric, but the unemployment rates in all but Fayette Co. are in the 4.1-4.3 range. That's not terrible (i.e. "sharting") and less than a half point above the national average, and only two to three tenths above Allegheny Co.