Pittsburgh hit a new high in April as the number one region in the country with the biggest growth in private sector jobs.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the region added 17,800 total jobs, including 16,700 jobs in the private sector between March and April of 2010. The 1.6% increase was higher than 40 other regions in the U.S. and almost twice as high as the national figures, points out Harold Miller in
PittsburghTODAY, which reports regularly on how the region compares to others across the country based on indicators like economy, health and demographics.
"The Pittsburgh Region has historically lagged the nation in recovering from recessions, so the fact that we led the nation in April is a very positive sign," says Miller. "However, we still have a long way to go to recover all of the jobs we've lost over the past 18 months."
While seasonal hiring generally means an increase from March to April, more jobs were added in the Pittsburgh region this April than in the past 15 years, Miller adds. The construction industry was the leading job creator followed by the leisure and hospitality sector. The professional and business services sector also posted significant gains.
Part of this may be due to stimulus spending, Miller speculates, as well as the stability of the region's housing market.
Earlier this year, PittsburghTODAY reorganized the Regional Indicator project with new website tools and the addition of several prominent leaders to the committee to increase diversity in age, gender and representation outside of Allegheny County.
Paul O'Neill, former secretary of the U.S. Treasury and retired CEO of Alcoa, was tapped to lead the project, which remains under the direction of John Craig. PittsburghTODAY also moved its office from University of Pittsburgh's Center for Social and Urban Research to 3 Rivers Connect.
Writer:
Debra Diamond SmitSource: Harold Miller, PittsburghTODAY
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