Shale boom economics
Pennsylvania ranks 48th in job growth
The latest job numbers confirm once again that shale gas drilling is not a job bonanza.
John Hangar, former director of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, notes that Pennsylvania ranks 48th in non-farm jobs growth, for the period December 2012 to December 2013.
“Without drilling one shale gas well, New York created 96,700 jobs during 2013, or more than five times as many as Pennsylvania,” Hangar says, citing the “Jobs Growth USA” table on the website of the University of Arizona Carey School of Business, using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The data show that jobs creation in Pennsylvania has declined in each of the past three years, says Hangar, who is expected to oppose pro-fracking Governor Tom Corbett in this year’s gubernatorial race.
In addition to trailing New York in job creation, Pennsylvania trails Delaware and Maryland, two more neighboring states.