Our workforce demands are driven by the companies that make up our commonwealth. Knowing how and where growth is happening in a constantly evolving economy is critical to moving Pennsylvania forward.

This page is part of the community impacts section and describes impacts on the economic cost of the opioid crisis by estimating lost wages.

This indicator includes the estimated total lost wages related to opioid use and the associated lost tax revenue for the state. Estimated lost wages are due to absenteeism, reduced productivity, hospitalization, unemployment and labor force exits due to opioid use. This value is the product of the estimated number of individuals with drug use disorder, the average weekly wages for county of residence—as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics—multiplied by 52 to represent annual wages, and a 17% reduction in productivity.
The 17% reduction in productivity is from the following report: https://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/pubs44/44731/44731p.pdf

Welcome to the Keystone Economic Development and Workforce Command Center Data Dashboard. The Command Center, created by executive order of Governor Tom Wolf in February 2019, brings an innovative approach to addressing the critical issue of training qualified workers for the jobs Pennsylvania companies need to fill.
Here you will find data related to four themes:
Economic Drivers of Pennsylvania's workforce outcomes, such as local employment growth and business activity;
Information on Pennsylvania's Labor Force, including the state's unemployment and labor force participation rates;
The performance of Pennsylvania's Education and Training programs; and
Barriers to employment for Pennsylvania job-seekers.
Content for the Data Dashboard is updating continually, so please check back often. For more information on the Keystone Economic Development and Workforce Command Center, visit the Command Center website at https://www.pasmart.gov/command-center/

This indicator includes the estimated lifetime wages lost due to premature opioid-related mortality. This value is the sum of the product of the number of years of life lost due to premature opioid-related mortality and the average quarterly wages for county of residence—as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics—adjusted for inflation and then discounted.

This indicator includes the estimated total lost productivity related to opioid use and the associated lost tax revenue for the state.

Welcome to Pennsylvania's Innovation Economy Dashboard. This dashboard, along with the report: Pennsylvania's Innovation Economy Annual Report (May 2021), was developed by students at Carnegie Mellon University. The information here focuses on translating new ideas into jobs, developing and maintaining a talented workforce, and connecting workers to jobs--to keep our state prosperous, competitive, and supportive of all Pennsylvanians.

The Inc. 5000 is an annually released list that tracks the 5,000 companies in the U.S. that are experiencing the highest revenue growth. Of those companies on the 2020 list, 188 are headquartered in PA.
The literature shows that high growth firms (defined as firms experiencing 20% or greater compound annual revenue grown over 3-years) are responsible for a significantly outsized contribution to economic growth and job creation. It also suggests that small, young, and knowledge-based firms are much more likely to achieve the levels of high growth seen on this list.
The Brookings Institute conducted an analysis and general endorsement of the list: https://www.brookings.edu/research/high-growth-firms-and-cities-in-the-us-an-analysis-of-the-inc-5000/
Source: INC 5000, Introducing the 5,000 Fastest-Growing Companies in America

While STEM graduates aren't the only contributors to PA’s innovation economy, the number of STEM degrees awarded each year serves as a proxy for the labor pool’s interests and its level of skill development and sophistication (Milken 2018 Report).
As businesses grow in PA, they need skilled and well-educated workers who are prepared for the innovation economy. STEM degree programs help equip students with the knowledge and skills they need to enter the workforce and be successful in a tech-driven, global economy. (PA Department of Education).
Note about data: This table presents data collected from Title IV institutions in the United States. Prior to 2009-10, the data include only Title IV primarily postsecondary institutions.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS),Completions component final data (2001-02 - 2017-18) and provisional data(2018-19).

The official FCC broadband definition is a minimum of 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload.
Cable/fiber internet connection is used to define access to broadband, since these are the most commonly used and currently best two types of internet for a fast connection. Other technologies are less preferable due to slowness, instability, data caps, and latency.
Source: Federal Communications Commission Broadband Map