Pitt ranked 4th most literate (Pittsburgh, York: section 8, 2014, home)

[pman]

Report: Pittsburgh among most literate cities - Pittsburgh Business Times:

Pittsburgh was fourth in 2009, up from its 2008 rank of No. 12...Pittsburgh ranked seventh for its number of bookstores per 10,000 population, 16th in education, ranked third for libraries, tied St Louis for fifth in newspaper circulation and ranked seventh for publications. Pittsburgh's weakest category was Internet resources;

[Copanut]

I seen that article.

[nuwaver88]

Originally Posted by Copanut

I seen that article.

I done seen it too. We Yinzers sure be smart.

[dugdogmaster]

One of the most literate and one of the most educated metros in the U.S. Where are all of the Yinzers? Or, better yet, where are all of those whom like to poke fun, making them look even worse than a Yinzer?

[Tiger Beer]

Central Connecticut State University (CCSU): AMLC Home

Looks like Seattle & Minneapolis are the top two all of the time. DC is in the 3rd most of the time. I'm surprised New York City isn't mentioned anywhere on the top 10 the last few years?

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Pittsburgh ranked 3rd for libraries? I didn't realize that...wonder who else is on that list.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by dugdogmaster

One of the most literate and one of the most educated metros in the U.S. Where are all of the Yinzers?

Out of work in the Sun Belt right about now.

Somewhat seriously, the education stats improved enormously after the steel bust, thanks in part to this no longer being a place where there were lots of good jobs for people without much education.

[Copanut]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Somewhat seriously, the education stats improved enormously after the steel bust, thanks in part to this no longer being a place where there were lots of good jobs for people without much education.

So now we have educated people out of work.

I'd gladly put up with more "yinzers" if we had our industrial base back in this area.

[Tombstoner]

Originally Posted by Copanut

So now we have educated people out of work.

I'd gladly put up with more "yinzers" if we had our industrial base back in this area.

Sincere question: in what ways would having the old industrial base "back" be an improvement over the current situation? Better services? Cleaner/safer environment? More/better economic health? I'm not seeing it, but you may have something else in mind...

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Copanut

So now we have educated people out of work.

Yes and no. The recession has affected all groups, but educated people are still at much lower levels of unemployment. Courtesy of Calculated Risk, see here:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pMscxxELHE...tEducation.jpg

Indeed, I suspect the relatively high education levels and relatively low unemployment levels in Pittsburgh are related (although of course other factors, like the lack of a local housing bubble, are also crucial).

I'd gladly put up with more "yinzers" if we had our industrial base back in this area.

This is just an aside, but thanks to productivity gains through things like automation, modern industrial firms tend to employ a lot fewer people than they used to--although the jobs that remain are very good jobs, and these firms tend to support other local firms (in part thanks to less integration and more "outsourcing" of non-core functions). In fact there is still quite a bit of industrial manufacturing going on in Pittsburgh: it just doesn't employ that many people directly. Which is not to say I wouldn't like to see even more of that going on in the region--again, the jobs they bring are good jobs, and the firms support other firms.

[Copanut]

How many threads are started here asking if an area is "safe"?

The reason there are now so many declining areas is the lack of good paying jobs performed by manual/skilled labor. I had a few high school buddies that couldn't wait to graduate to get to either Westinghouse or US Steel to start making good money. Some went into the apprentice machinist program and had a bright future. Maybe they couldn't quote Shakespeare, but they could run a lathe in a machine shop and make enough to support a family. Where would those guys go now? 7-11 working the slurpy machine?

I'm just saying, every time I hear great news about a new mall, art gallery, or restaurant opening, I think, wow, about 10 people are making good money, the rest are minimum wage.

You can make an argument that Pgh has done well since the steel decline, but only for the educated. But how many jobs are available for those without an education. How about all the other steel/manufacturing towns up and down the rivers that will NEVER recover?

My home town is now over run with Section 8 housing, drugs, and white trash. Back in the day, we were low middle class, but everyone worked cuz there were jobs available.

Ah, never mind. Just my own little rant.