09/16/24 - 98 New Stories - REAL Environmental & Conservation Leadership In PA: http://tinyurl.com/2zvd7hju
| Share this: | ||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
Report: Marcellus Shale Boom Adds Almost 10,000 Jobs In 3 Years
|
|
Between late 2007 and 2010, the Marcellus Shale boom created almost 10,000 new jobs in Pennsylvania, much less than the 48,000 figure reported in recent news stories, statements and commentaries, according to the Keystone Research Center.
In a new policy brief, the Keystone Research Center explains that those recent reports with exaggerated claims about Marcellus job creation rely on data about "new hires," which are not the same as new jobs. "New hires" track additions to employment but not separations due to resignations, firings or replacements.
Between the fourth quarter of 2009 and the first quarter of 2011, Marcellus industries added 48,000 "new hires," while all Pennsylvania industries added 2.8 million "new hires." As Pennsylvanians well know, the commonwealth has added nothing like 2.8 million jobs to the economy since 2009 -- in fact, only 85,400 new jobs were created.
"The number of new hires by itself tells half the story and is not a meaningful indicator of job creation," said Stephen Herzenberg, PhD, Executive Director of the Keystone Research Center. "You have to also look at the number of people who leave jobs."
Between the fourth quarter of 2007 and the fourth quarter of 2010, according to the latest report from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry's Center for Workforce Information and Analysis, all Marcellus Shale-related industries added 5,669 jobs. Six industries in what CWIA defines as the "Marcellus Core" industries added 9,288 jobs during this period. Over the same three years, 30 industries in a group CWIA calls "Marcellus Ancillary" actually lost 3,619 jobs.
Overall, Marcellus job growth is small -- accounting for less than one in 10 of the 111,400 new jobs created since February 2010, when employment bottomed out after the recession, the report finds. Even if Marcellus Shale-related industries had created no jobs in 2010, the state still would have ranked third in overall job growth among the 50 states.
"The Marcellus boom has contributed to job growth, but the size of that contribution has been significantly overstated," Dr. Herzenberg said.
"To explain Pennsylvania's relatively strong recent job growth requires looking at factors other than Marcellus Shale -- such as the state's investments in education, renewable energy, workforce skills, and unemployment benefits," he added.
The report also states that any economic benefit from the Marcellus Shale must be balanced against the impact of drilling on other industries, such as tourism and the Pennsylvania hardwoods industry.
To sustain Pennsylvania's strong economic performance, policymakers should adopt a drilling tax or fee that helps finance job-creating investments in education and the economy, as well as providing resources to protect the environment and address infrastructure needs, the report recommends.
Pennsylvania should also develop a Marcellus Shale economic development policy that includes training and placement of more Pennsylvania workers in high-paying Marcellus jobs; investing in industries that supply equipment, parts and services to the industry; enabling Pennsylvania manufacturers to benefit from low-cost natural gas; and setting aside revenue to seed a fund that will develop post-Marcellus Shale industries.
"While the Marcellus job dividend has been small to date," Dr. Herzenberg said, "greater opportunities exist if the state replaces cheerleading for the industry with a real strategy to maximize its benefits. We need to better develop spin-off opportunities and capture some of the resources from Marcellus development to benefit Pennsylvania's middle class and overall economy."
Marcellus Industry Reaction
Katheryn Klaber, President and Executive Director of the Marcellus Shale Coalition said in reaction to the report, "In the heat of a budget battle in Harrisburg, opponents of responsible natural gas development have launched yet another thinly-veiled, politically-timed attack on an industry that is creating family-sustaining jobs for men and women across the Commonwealth. But families across Pennsylvania are seeing firsthand the reality of Marcellus development: it is fueling economic growth, employment, and investments in roads and infrastructure at rates not seen in decades.
“According to the Department of Labor and Industry, unemployment in counties with Marcellus development remains below the state average. Along Pennsylvania’s Northern Tier, where development is most concentrated, employment has jumped 1,500 percent since the end of 2007. Furthermore, Marcellus operators are investing billions of dollars into Pennsylvania’s economy – from constructing state-of-the-art operating facilities, to building new offices, to leasing land for responsible development and driving economic growth in our rural communities. Take into account the more than $1 billion in taxes generated by Marcellus activity over the past half-decade, stable and affordable energy prices made possible by responsible natural gas development, and the ancillary employment impacts cascading through businesses across the Commonwealth, and only then can the full act of Marcellus development be realized. Once again, the rhetoric of opponents of Pennsylvania’s clean and abundant energy supply is simply not squaring with reality.
“People who were out of work and now have jobs thanks to Marcellus development are more than statistics, and they are proud that they now have jobs. Attempting to trivialize their new employment opportunities simply to fulfill a political agenda not only denies the real economic benefits from Marcellus, but also demeans the very people who are employed."
Response To Response
"In a statement, Kathryn Klaber, the president and executive director of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, did not contest the simple factual point of the Keystone Research Center's policy brief on job creation in Marcellus Shale-related industries. Our policy brief cites a state Department of Labor and Industry report showing that Marcellus-related industries have created less than 10,000 jobs in recent years, not the 48,000 jobs claimed in recent press reports.
"The exaggerated claims of Marcellus-related job creation stem from a confusion between 'new hires,' and 'job growth.' Job growth, by definition, equals new hires minus separations (i.e., quits, firings, and retirements). Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry spokesman Christopher Manlove echoed the basic point of our policy brief in a comment to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: 'The difference, he said, is that new jobs are jobs that didn't exist previously, whereas new hires are jobs that became available due to employees resigning, retiring or being fired.'
"Rather than contesting the main point of our policy brief, most of Klaber's statement combines information that was also presented in our brief (on regional employment changes in Marcellus-related industries) and other information on Marcellus industries that do not relate to the industry's impact on Pennsylvania employment.
"On the employment issue, the MSC statement also refers to 'the ancillary employment impacts cascading through businesses across the Commonwealth.' No source or data are presented to support the claim of these 'ancillary employment impacts.' As the June edition of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry's Marcellus Shale Fast Facts and our brief point out, employment in Marcellus Ancillary industries declined by 3,618 between the fourth quarter of 2007 and the fourth quarter of 2010.
"Republican Party of Pennsylvania Executive Director Mike Barley put out a statement today that repeats the MSC statement with a new introduction. In it, Barley repeats the claim that 'the Marcellus industry has created 48,000 jobs.' As we have explained above and as the Department of Labor and Industry makes clear in its Marcellus Shale Fast Facts, this is not accurate.
"Former Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan once said, 'Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts.' While perspectives will differ on the appropriate policy response to the facts on the impact of Marcellus drilling on Pennsylvania, we think it is unfortunate that the Shale Coalition and Mr. Barley can't acknowledge that jobs and new hires are not the same, and present their interpretation of the facts in a civil way. Rather than name calling, civil discourse, using facts and logic, can help Pennsylvania maximize the economic benefits and minimize the environmental damage and risks of Marcellus drilling."
A copy of the policy brief is available online.
Report On Marcellus Shale Hiring DisputedMarcellus Shale Job Figures Disputed State Defends Bloated Shale Jobs Report |
|
6/27/2011 |
| Go To Preceding Article Go To Next Article |
