ERIC Number: ED624085
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Aug
Pages: 30
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
State of Working Pennsylvania 2019
Herzenberg, Stephen; Murtaza, Muhammad Maisum
Keystone Research Center
Tom Wilson, the chair of the executive committee of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce published an op-ed titled "Save Capitalism by Paying People More." Wilson acknowledges in blunt terms that ordinary working Americans are not flourishing economically. This year's annual "The State of Working Pennsylvania" documents the accuracy of Tom Wilson's observation in Pennsylvania. In 2018, for the first time since 2001, Pennsylvania workers enjoyed wage increases across the board--3.1% on average across the entire wage distribution (i.e. from the 10th percentile to the 90th percentile). These gains reflect what is now the longest economic expansion in U.S. history and an unemployment rate in Pennsylvania below 4% for the first time since before 1976. This report recommends following Wilson's advice that business leaders create specific goals and execute a plan to grow more higher-paying jobs. The authors propose using the already existing Middle Class Task Force, which includes labor as well as business representation, to develop the plan and execution strategy. After 40 or more years of business leadership focused single-mindedly on profits, it will take a sustained team effort to create a kinder, gentler capitalism that we can all embrace.
Descriptors: Economic Development, Wages, Unemployment, Employment Patterns, Labor Market, Minimum Wage, Working Hours, Teacher Salaries, African Americans, Salary Wage Differentials
Keystone Research Center. 412 North Third Street, Harrisburg, PA 17101. Tel: 717-255-7181; Web site: http://keystoneresearch.org
Publication Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Keystone Research Center (KRC)
Identifiers - Location: Pennsylvania
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A