HARRISBURG, Pa. - 2010 was nothing close to a banner year for Pennsylvania's economy, but the state did manage to create more jobs than most, according to a new report from Keystone Research Center. Executive director Stephen Herzenberg says Pennsylvania added more than 65,000 jobs last year, third-highest among all states.
"What these numbers seem to indicate is that Pennsylvania's recent investment in increasing workers' skills, boosting jobs in renewable energy, in education and building strong communities, has reaped real rewards for our economy."
Herzenberg says while neighboring New Jersey is gaining a lot of attention for the massive government downsizing going on there, in terms of job growth, the Garden State ranks dead last.
"You've seen that in New Jersey. New Jersey has also turned back some money from the federal government to build a new tunnel to New York. At the moment, middle class families in New Jersey are paying the price of those choices."
Herzenberg says money Pennsylvania received from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act plays a role in new jobs in the state, but the progress made last year shouldn't be discounted.
"Washington and Harrisburg should be focusing on how to do better, but in terms of these numbers and Pennsylvania's improving performance and good last twelve months, the numbers are the numbers."
Pennsylvania's new Republican Governor, Tom Corbett, says the state is facing a 4.5 billion dollar deficit, and while some of his planned budget cuts are clear, many more are not. Herzenberg says lawmakers in Harrisburg need to make sure that new revenue initiatives accompany funding reductions, so recent job gains seen in the state aren't lost.
"What these numbers seem to indicate is that Pennsylvania's recent investment in increasing workers' skills, boosting jobs in renewable energy, in education and building strong communities, has reaped real rewards for our economy."
Herzenberg says while neighboring New Jersey is gaining a lot of attention for the massive government downsizing going on there, in terms of job growth, the Garden State ranks dead last.
"You've seen that in New Jersey. New Jersey has also turned back some money from the federal government to build a new tunnel to New York. At the moment, middle class families in New Jersey are paying the price of those choices."
Herzenberg says money Pennsylvania received from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act plays a role in new jobs in the state, but the progress made last year shouldn't be discounted.
"Washington and Harrisburg should be focusing on how to do better, but in terms of these numbers and Pennsylvania's improving performance and good last twelve months, the numbers are the numbers."
Pennsylvania's new Republican Governor, Tom Corbett, says the state is facing a 4.5 billion dollar deficit, and while some of his planned budget cuts are clear, many more are not. Herzenberg says lawmakers in Harrisburg need to make sure that new revenue initiatives accompany funding reductions, so recent job gains seen in the state aren't lost.
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