Report: Pittsburgh metro job growth lags behind right-to-work regions

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(The Center Square) – Pittsburgh and its eight surrounding counties reported marginal job gains over the last 25 years, according to a new report from the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy.

In an analysis of the region and nine other similarly sized metros across the country, the institute found that cities in states without compulsory union rules – under the federal Right to Work Act – grew faster since 2000 and recovered faster post-pandemic.

The regions analyzed were Cleveland, Ohio; Hartford, Conn.; Minneapolis; Kansas City, Mo.; Portland, Ore.; Greenville, S.C.; Indianapolis; Charlotte; and Raleigh. The report also studies Dallas, though it noted the region is far larger than the others.

Since 2000, the private-sector job market in the southwestern portion of the state has grown by 4.7% – the third-slowest rate recorded in the report. The region is also short 3,600 jobs that existed before COVID-19 led to widespread business collapse. Cleveland and Hartford lagged behind the Steel City on both metrics.

Cities in North Carolina – Charlotte and Raleigh – fared the best, adding a combined 689,000 private sector jobs over the last 25 years and 242,800 since 2019 alone.

To bolster its observation about right-to-work states and economic growth, the institute pointed to Kansas City, which ranked in the middle of the pack, because 60% of the region lies across the border in Missouri, a state with compulsory union rules.

The institute clarified that although it was a “powerful indicator,” other factors, like state government policies, impacted the results.

Compulsory union rules factored into an analysis from Rich States, Poor States that ranked the commonwealth 36th in the nation for economic outlook and 44th for economic performance.