Fresh Profile: Pennsylvania Jobs

Published on 2008-08-12

Manufacturing and agriculture have been major contributors to Pennsylvania's economy since the mid 1800s. Today, the state's list of leading industries has expanded to include biosciences, technology, business services and tourism. The majority of Pennsylvania jobs are found within the service, retail trade, and manufacturing sectors.

Early mining of iron and coal led to the growth of the state's prominent steel industry. Pennsylvania is still the leading producer of specialty steel in the nation. In addition to metal, the state's manufacturing industry deals with the production of chemicals, pharmaceuticals, food products and electronic equipment. Several Fortune 500 companies concentrated mainly in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are important sources of manufacturing jobs in the state; these include U.S. Steel and the H. J. Heinz Company.

The state's rural land, concentrated in southeastern Pennsylvania, is home to over 58,000 farms. Agriculture jobs in PA are generally focused on the production of mushrooms, Christmas trees, chickens, dairy products, sweet corn, maple syrup and potatoes. Recently, however, many farms have been sold to housing developers, revealing the greater land use demands of PA's growing metropolitan areas.

Manufacturing, health care, biotechnology and tourism are the leading industries for Philadelphia jobs. Chemicals, metal, paper, textiles, and electrical and electronic products are just a few of the items produced by Philadelphia's broad manufacturing sector.

Healthcare-related jobs, including Philadelphia nursing jobs, are available within the city's long-established concentration of hospitals and medical facilities. Philadelphia was the birthplace of the first hospital in the British North American colonies. It's currently home to the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (also the nation's first) and three major children's hospitals, as well as other important hospitals and several medical associations. Pharmaceutical companies such as GlaxoSmithKline, which has its U.S. headquarters in Philadelphia, are also leading contributors of jobs in Pennsylvania, providing a wide range of positions within the sales, administration, business development, engineering, and environmental health and safety sectors.

Pittsburgh jobs are primarily generated by the healthcare, education, technology and financial services sectors. The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is the largest single employer in the city, with 26,000 employees. It is also one of the top healthcare providers in the nation, operating 20 hospitals in the western Pennsylvania area. Pittsburgh's large cluster of magnet schools, professional institutes and distinguished universities provides a significant number of teaching careers. Prestigious schools in the city include Carnegie Mellon University, Duquesne University and the University of Pittsburgh.

The preponderance of hospitality jobs in Pennsylvania is attributable to the state's tourism industry, which accommodates over 100 million travelers each year. Historic Pennsylvania sites include Gettysburg and the home of Dwight D. Eisenhower. Other popular destinations are Chocolate World, Hershey Park, and the scenic Delaware Water Gap and Pocono Mountains. The nationally renowned Philly cheesesteak is an iconic source of restaurant jobs in Philadelphia.

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