New Report: State of Working Pennsylvania 2009

Posted by on October 5, 2009

Keystone report describes status of state’s working families

The Keystone Research Center has released The State of Working Pennsylvania 2009, an annual checkup on the state of the economy with a focus on working families.

This year’s report underscores how the middle class has been particularly hard hit by the worst recession since the Great Depression and offers four major conclusions.
— Government action pulled the economy back from the brink.  The relative improvement in Pennsylvania job losses from a monthly average of 31,067 between February and April 2009 to an average of 9,200 losses in May, June and July can be attributed in large part to increased public sector spending through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
— The recession hit Pennsylvania hard.  Indicators include job losses totaling 192,300 since the recession began in December 2007, more than half a million unemployed citizens, and one in seven Pennsylvanians underemployed.
— Middle class wages declined.  Data show a 2% decline in the inflation-adjusted median wage. Workers who make over $50,000 experienced a 4% drop in inflation-adjusted hourly earnings.  Low-wage earners saw slight gains in hourly earnings.
— The middle class lost ground as wealthiest Pennsylvanians saw their incomes surge.  While the average income of the bottom 90% of Pennsylvanians declined by 4.5% between 2001 and 2006, the average income of the top 1% increased by 37% during the same period.

The report recommends that today’s policymakers continue to stimulate the economy until it once again grows again at healthy rates.  It also urges policymakers to enact structural reforms to lift wages and incomes and rebuild the middle class.

To see the full report, go here.

http://www.stateofworkingpa.com/