Regional Differences

The effects of the recession and its aftermath have differed across the state’s regions.

• Wages in metropolitan Philadelphia rose by nearly 1 percent in 2003 and wages in the smaller metropolitan areas of southern Pennsylvania (Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, Reading, Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle, Lancaster, and York) were up by 0.3 percent. But in metropolitan Pittsburgh and a “rest of the state” region consisting of non-metropolitan areas and smaller metropolitan areas wages fell by about 2 percent.
• Most of Pennsylvania’s metropolitan areas lost jobs from 2000-2003 but Altoona, Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle, and suburban Philadelphia (although not the City of Philadelphia or the entire metropolitan area) gained jobs. Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton’s employment remained unchanged.
• The decline in manufacturing jobs was especially severe in the state’s smaller metropolitan areas, where manufacturing is even more important to the local economy than it is statewide.

More about differences in economic conditions between the various regions of Pennsylvania can be found on pages 30-36 of The State of Working Pennsylvania 2004.

In the weeks after Labor Day, KRC will publish more detailed data on the economic performance of various Pennsylvania regions. You can sign up to receive notice of these updates by using the form at left.

This page is an on-line summary of a portion of the full State of Working Pennsylvania 2004 report available for download from www.stateofworkingpa.org. © 2004 Keystone Research Center - www.keystoneresearch.org.