HARRISBURG – Gov. Edward G. Rendell said today that Pennsylvania’s job count has reached an all-time high after 900 net new jobs pushed June’s job count1 to 5,799,400. The Governor said Pennsylvania has added 49,900 jobs since June 2006, and it has seen a net gain of 171,200 jobs since January 2003.
“Our economy continues to grow at a strong, healthy pace,” Rendell said. “We’ve seen our job count increase in 11 out of the past 12 months, and our unemployment rate2 – which is currently 4.1 percent – has been at or below the national rate for 44 of the past 54 months.
“Both of those trends are positive indications our investments in Pennsylvania’s economy have been wise. That is why I plan to continue to build upon our success with investments in energy and biosciences through the Energy Independence Strategy and the Jonas Salk Legacy Fund. These are job sectors that are showing strong growth and have great potential to ensure Pennsylvania is well positioned in the high-tech global economy.”
The Energy Independence Strategy is projected to generate 13,000 new jobs and $3.5 billion in new investment in high-skilled jobs.
“The commitment we have made to expanding our own use of clean and renewable energy has both environmental and economic advantages,” Rendell said. “Right now, because of our strategic investments, Conergy — one of the world’s largest solar companies — and the 50 high-paying new jobs it created, calls Pennsylvania home.”
Making Pennsylvania home to an international biotechnology research and development “hotspot” is another goal of the governor and the design of the Jonas Salk Legacy Fund.
“The state budget I signed this week includes $600 million in new investments for education,” Rendell said. “This budget will do a lot of good things for our children; it also gives school districts the incentive to help us prepare the next generation of the world’s premier scientists. Now all we have to do is ensure that those future scientists have world-class facilities in which to work. That’s just what the Jonas Salk Legacy Fund proposal does.”
The governor said that by enacting the Jonas Salk Legacy Fund, the commonwealth would be able to build or renovate an additional 2.2 million square feet of mixed-use lab space; create approximately 13,000 research-related and support jobs at an average annual salary of $65,000; and foster the growth of dozens of new companies armed with tens-of-millions-of-dollars in new venture capital for bioscience companies.
“The opportunities for us to make a difference through the Energy Independence Strategy and Jonas Salk Legacy Fund are too vital to our economy to pass up,” Rendell said. “We owe it to ourselves; to our children; and to our grandchildren.”