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Pennsylvania Governor Rendell Says Pennsylvania's Job Count Reaches All-Time High, 139,300 New Jobs Created Since 2003

Posted on: Monday, 23 October 2006, 12:01 CDT

HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Governor Edward G. Rendell said today that Pennsylvania has gained 139,300 jobs since January 2003, including 5,100 new jobs gained in September. Pennsylvania has added new jobs in 12 of the last 13 months, the Governor said.

Governor Rendell also said Pennsylvania's job count(1) reached a record high of 5,764,600 in September, setting a sixth consecutive record.

Pennsylvania's unemployment rate(2) fell three-tenths-of-a-percentage-point to 4.6 percent, 1.1 percentage points below the January 2003 rate of 5.7 percent, and equal to the nation's unemployment rate.

"The evidence continues to mount that Pennsylvania is rebuilding and revitalizing its economy. Five industry sectors reached record job levels," Governor Rendell said. "The education and health services sector has been our fastest growing sector all year, and added thousands of new jobs in September.

"Our workforce development strategies are paying off," the Governor said. "Job gains in the health care industry are dramatic, not just in the number of new jobs created, but the number of qualified workers we are training to fill those jobs.

"When I took office, there was a long-standing, severe shortage of nurses, and not enough trained educators or clinical facilities to meet our need for nursing graduates," the Governor said. "But we have made giant steps toward alleviating the shortage. Pennsylvania's nursing education initiatives will continue to increase nursing faculty, promote nursing as a career and expand clinical training opportunities for aspiring nurses."

Nine nursing education initiatives are in progress including two programs funded in the 2006-07 state budget. The Loaned Faculty initiative encourages health care providers to loan qualified nurses to teach at nursing schools. The clinical education program provides funding to expand clinical education opportunities for the growing number of nursing students in the state. More information about Pennsylvania's nursing education initiatives is available online at: http://www.paworkforce.state.pa.us/, under the "Governor Rendell's Strategy for Building a Skilled Workforce" quick link.

"Those initiatives are producing results," Governor Rendell said. "Since I took office, the number of Registered Nurses (RN) graduating in Pennsylvania has increased by 128 percent; and the number of Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) graduates has increased by 126 percent.

"These new nurses and their colleagues in the health care field are vital to the quality of life and economic prosperity of our great commonwealth," the Governor said. "We must continue to offer unique economic and workforce development solutions that create more of the jobs Pennsylvania needs to stay competitive in a world marketplace and remain the best place in the country to live and do business."

The Rendell Administration is committed to creating a first-rate public education system, protecting our most vulnerable citizens and continuing economic investment to support our communities and businesses. To find out more about Governor Rendell's initiatives and to sign up for his weekly newsletter, visit his Web site at: http://www.governor.state.pa.us/.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry today released "Pennsylvania's Employment Situation: September 2006." To receive a copy, call (717) 787-7530. Tables showing long-term employment growth by region, using the latest available county employment data, are available online at http://www.state.pa.us/papower/lib/papower/jobssept-regionaltables102306.pdf.

(1) The monthly Nonfarm Job Count is based on the Current Employment Statistics (CES), also known as "payroll," survey and is the source of nonfarm jobs data by industry. It is a monthly survey of employers conducted by L&I's Center for Workforce Information and Analysis, reaching about 18,000 businesses. This data may include multiple jobs held by a single individual.

(2) The monthly Unemployment Rate is based on the Current Population Survey (CPS). CPS, also known as "household" survey, data is the primary source of Civilian Labor Force and Employment statistics. It is a monthly household survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, reaching about 2,500 households in Pennsylvania. This survey counts how many people are employed, regardless of how many jobs they are actually working.

CONTACT: Kate Philips 717-783-1116 Shannon Powers (L&I) 717-787-7530

Pennsylvania Office of the Governor

CONTACT: Kate Philips, Pennsylvania Office of the Governor,+1-717-783-1116; or Shannon Powers, L&I, +1-717-787-7530

Web Site: http://www.governor.state.pa.us/http://www.paworkforce.state.pa.us/http://www.state.pa.us/papower/lib/papower/jobssept-regionaltables102306.pdf

Source: PRNewswire

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