October 13, 2010
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The Profile of Unemployed Pennsylvanians

It is no secret that Pennsylvania is in the midst of an economic crisis. Our friends and neighbors have seen jobs disappear and paychecks cut in half. If we do not step up and help get people back to work, our situation will only get worse.

The Department of Labor and Industry recently released a report detailing the demographics of unemployed people and the recession’s effects on the workforce.

Click here to view and print detailed map

It was especially alarming to learn that most of the 600,000 currently unemployed Pennsylvanians are educated and in their working prime. More than half are facing unemployment for the first time in their lives.

It is alarming that we have this many talented workers who cannot find work.

The report revealed that the unemployed pool contains 39,000 managers and supervisors, 22,000 educators and more than 15,000 engineers, scientists and computer professionals.

The report found a roughly 20 percent decrease in the long-term annual earnings for these dislocated people. This means that a worker who was previously earning $50,000 had a startling annual earnings loss of $10,000.

Not only do these talented and hard working Pennsylvanians feel the strains of unemployment in their bank accounts, but it can take a psychological toll on proud workers.

Earlier this session, I worked with Sen. Christine Tartaglione to introduce a package of legislation that would create more 40,000 transitional jobs over the next two years.

Our JOBS package would employ adult workers for nine-months paying $10 per hour for up to 30 hours per week. A second component would create a six-week youth summer employment program that would pay $9 per hour for 25 hours per week.

If we want to kick-start the economy and start to emerge from this recession, the state legislature needs to make job creation its number one priority.

Our friends, families and neighbors are struggling to make ends meet, and hopefully this report will alert everyone to our state’s dire unemployment problem.

While we have come a long way over the years in terms of workforce development, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done.

This report put a face to over a half million Pennsylvanians who need our help finding employment and supporting their families. It is time for the legislature to lend a helping hand to these displaced workers.

A copy of the Department of Labor and Industry’s Profile of Pennsylvania’s Unemployed People is available online at www.paworkforce.state.pa.us.

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