City jobs are growing at fast pace
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The city of Pittsburgh's job figures have steadily increased for the last five years, according to recently released census data.
Why it matters: Headlines have created a narrative that Pittsburgh is bleeding residents, losing jobs and is seeing its economy in free fall in comparison to the suburbs, but data doesn't back that up.
Driving the news: The city of Pittsburgh added more than 54,000 jobs between the 2008 recession and 2024, according to workforce data from the census.
- It also rebounded nicely from the pandemic, adding over 45,000 jobs between June 2020 and April 2024.
By the numbers: Over 317,000 jobs were located within the city as of April 2024.
State of play: Allegheny County's suburban job growth has remained static over the last 14 years, according to census data.
- "The city's ability not only to retain but also to grow the number of local jobs in the face of suburbanization and deindustrialization is a remarkable achievement," wrote University of Pittsburgh economist and social researcher Chris Briem for Real Clear Pennsylvania.
Zoom in: Downtown has lost jobs due to the rise of remote work, but it is still the region's largest job center, Briem told Axios.
- He noted that Oakland, Bakery Square, the Strip District and the North Side have seen some job growth but said "there is no major shift in the job centers within the city."
Zoom out: From 2010 through the middle of 2024, over 75% of the eight-county region's employment gains were generated by jobs located within the city, despite the city representing only about 13% of the region's population, according to Briem.
What they're saying: Mayor Ed Gainey told Axios his administration's efforts to create jobs through supporting workers' rights and apprenticeships are paying off.
- "We've prioritized being at the forefront of high growth industries like clean technology, along with equity and diversity, in all of our workforce development," he said. "It's creating partnerships that lead to thousands of union and prevailing wage jobs for left-behind workers."
The bottom line: Though Pittsburgh's residential population has stagnated for a decade, the city remains the region's most important and dynamic job center.