Agriculture

Production agriculture is an important part of the Pennsylvania economy.  For example, in 2001, the total value of farm production in the state exceeded 2.1 billion, and the sector provided more than 84,300 jobs. According to the Pennsylvania Agricultural Statistics Service, the state has more than 59,000 farms, comprising 7.7 million acres.  Next to tourism, agriculture and food production are the Commonwealth’s largest industries creating over $45 billion dollars in state revenue and thousands of jobs.  In 2006, Pennsylvania ranked 18th in the US in overall agricultural exports, bringing in an estimated 1,353.8 million dollars.  In addition, Pennsylvania ranks fifth in the nation for dairy production.

As a leader in food products, many food-processing companies are located throughout Pennsylvania, but are particularly concentrated in the southeastern and southwestern parts of the state.  Leading food manufacturing industries meatpacking, dairy products and egg processing, fruit and vegetable processing, chocolate and confectionery manufacture, beverages and potato processing.  Pennsylvania is also important manufacturer of agricultural machinery, chemicals, food processing equipment, and forest products equipment.

Health Services

As the largest industry in 2002, health services provided 12.9 million jobs—12.5 million jobs for wage and salary workers and about 382,000 jobs for the self-employed.  Ten out of 20 occupations projected to grow the fastest are concentrated in health services. About 16 percent of all new wage and salary jobs created between 2002 and 2012 will be in health services—3.5 million jobs, which is more than in any other industry.

The health care sub-cluster in Pennsylvania is growing rapidly.  The top three industries in the sub-cluster—general medical and surgical hospitals, nursing care facilities and offices of physicians, except mental health—represent over 54% of all health care jobs, wth general medical and surgical hospitals providing nearly one in three jobs. Morever, the health care industry is in high demand as Pennsylvania continues to age.  The shortage of staff in the care-giving fields has created a crisis in the Commonwealth’s health care industries.  The Commonwealth is giving priority to creating health care career paths, providing appropriate training, and developing strategies for retention.

Targeted enterprises by the Pennsylvania Regional Center within health services would include general medical and surgical hospitals, nursing care facilities and other health care institutions to accommodate the growing need in the health services industry.

Higher Education

As the hiring workforce increasingly seeks college graduates and applicants with advanced or professional degrees, the demand for and competition within institutions of higher education have made colleges and universities mini-industries in and of themselves. The increasing number of applicants every year puts pressure on colleges and universities to continuously reform their curricula, but also to accommodate continuously growing student body, and provide services to them. Expansion, construction, and development of housing, facilities, and research areas have become primary concerns for institutions of higher education as has repair and maintenance to existing structures. As real estate remains finite for many colleges and universities, they turn towards innovative campus management programs to meet the demands of its faculty and students. With each new residence hall, student union or research laboratory, staffing and providing all requisite services also becomes key. All 90 of Pennsylvania's private institutions of higher education have planned and implemented programs to meet these demands, allocating millions of dollars to these maintenance and construction projects. The Pennsylvania Regional Center would aim to participate in future projects to improve resources and facilities for the university communities such as construction and improvement of campus housing, classrooms and research facilities, and subsequent staffing would lead to many indirect jobs as well.

Leasehold Improvements

Increasingly, the ability for various industry sectors to operate in major metropolitan zones depends on strong downtown economic health or at the very least, the indication of stable economic development in its central areas.  Corporate real estate in many these metropolitan zones, however, presently faces a number of increasing important issues, including challenges in retaining existing corporate tenants as well as attracting new ones, presenting viable office spaces to smaller businesses, and accommodating the facility needs to businesses in an increasingly technology based world.  These challenges seem ever more pressing given the intense competition from suburban industrial arks developed specially to lure major corporations out of urban zones, and though relocation of offices does not necessarily mean loss of jobs to employees of that specfic repurcussions in the local urban economies as and the resident working population of the cities whose office buildings are vacated or remain empty. 

Leashold improvement to develop and renovate office space and make them viable and competeitve options for potential tentants are considered strong and effective incentives for attracting and retaining tenants.

Manufacturing and Trade

Manufacturing has been a founding industry in the United States’ history, and continues to be a driving industry for the economy.  The manufacturing industry in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvnia, in particular, has played an important role in both the state’s and nation’s economic prosperity over the past century.  As the needs and demands of both the natonal and international markets change, so do the efforts of manufacturing subsectors in Pennsylvania, more recently focusing on the manufacture of techonology, advanced materials and other diversified goods.

Manufacturing remains the largest of all industry sectors in Pennsylvania, ranking among one of the largest in the nation, and remaining the state’s primary economic driver. Manufacturing accounts for a larger share of total employment in Pennslvania than in the nation, despite a faster-than average rate of decrease for manufacturing jobs in the Commonwealth over the last decade.  Pennsylvania also derives a larger share of its gross state product (GSP), 16.1 percent, from manufacturing than does the nation, 14.8 percent. Morever though Pennsylvania manufacturing’s share of the national GDP has decreased somewhat over a decade, its ranking in importance to the U.S. economy has increased.  In 1993, Pennsylvania manufacturing was ranked sixth in the nation, contributing 5.1 percent to total U.S. manufacturing GDP. In 2003, Pennsylvania manufacturing was ranked fourth in the nation, contributing 4.4 percent to the total U.S. manufacturing GDP.

Existing strengths in Pennsylvania’s manufacturing industry, particularly its advanced materials and diversified manufacturing subsector, would be targetd enterprises for the Pennsylvania Regional Center, including (a) chemicals, rubber, and plastics, especially pharmaceuticals; (b) food, including ketchup and sauces, bakery foods and candles; (c) computer and electronic products, especially the manufacture of semiconductors and other electronic components; (d) primary metals and metal fabrication; (e) vehicle and vehicle equipment; and (f) printing and paper.

The International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce, furnishes statistics for merchandise export sales by business located 253 of the nation’s Metropolitan Statisitcal Areas (MSA). Four of Pennsylvania’s MSA’s are ranked among the nation’s highest 200 in terms of international exports, a fifth ranked as 201.  Three ranked within the top 100, generating total annual export sales in excess of $13.5 billion.

Production, import and export sales of manufactured products, particularly foreign sales, would be targeted enterprises of Pennsylvania Regional Center within the manufacturing and trade industry, in particular, chemical products, industrial machinery and computers, electrics and electronic equipment.

Technology

Forefronting the high-tech industry has been and continues to be a strong component of Pennsylvania state legislature and spending, aimed at making the Commonwealth a leader in the high-tech industry nationally.  Substantial attention is being paid to developing coopertative clusters of high-tech corporation and backing start-up companies around the major metropolitan regions, especially Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.  The Pennsylvania Regional Center hopes to take advantage of these state-wide and/or privately-administered funding programs, especially by linking high-tech start up companies with these funds as well as the techonoloy development incubators in Philadelphia. Information and Biotechonoloy have become particularly important sectors of the industry, such as laboratory work, specialized transportation and storage services, and testing pharmaceuticals would be targeted enterprises within this industry.

Tourism, Hospitality and Film

International and national tourism have always been important aspects of the Pennsylvania economy.  The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has invested considerable efforts and funds in marketing a strong tourism and convention industry supported by a growing infrastructure of facilities, sights, and services. Despite recent setbacks nationally in the tourist industry, Pennsylvania tourism seems to be maintaining steady expansion and growth.  Pennsylvania has a wide range of tourism assets including 116 State Parks, 20 State Forests and one National Forest, as well as 25 amusement parks, 64 wineries and 80+ breweries.  In addition there are more than 1000 museums within the state, 33 skiing resorts, 11 outlet malls including tax-free clothing and shoes, ore than 20 tourist railroads, 11 heritage regions and 213 covered bridges, including the only twin-covered bridge in the nation. Specific enterprises that the Pennsylvnia Regional Center would target include the film industry, hotel industry, restaurants, hospitality services, and those related to the convention center expansion would build upon these growing assets.

Transportation

Transportation—which is a vital component of the U.S. ecomony—moves people and goods, employs millions of people and consumes a large amount of resources and sercices produced by other sectors of the economy. Industry case studies have long demonstrated the relationship between transportation and the economy, and this is becoming increasingly clear as trade and service industries become more and more dependent on reliable and efficient transportation networks. Considerable development efforts have been devoted to repairing, maintaining, improving, and expanding the transportation infrastructure and transportation services of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.