Philly is gaining jobs again — but still has fewer than it did before the tech bubble burst
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
The city still hasn't recovered from the recession in the early 2000s.
Ouch.
Good news, everyone! According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly six years after the Great Recession hit, Philadelphia's struggling economy seems to have returned to pre-crisis employment levels. After hitting an all-time low of 652,000 jobs in 2009, last year marked the first time the number of jobs citywide exceeded pre-recession levels.
Even better, data from preliminary figures for 2014 seems to point towards continuing job growth.
But also, bad news, everyone! It appears the city still hasn't recovered from the earlier recession in the beginning of the 2000s. After hemorrhaging jobs for decades, employment had started to rebound in the late ’90s, peaking around the year 2000 with nearly 700,000 jobs counted across Philadelphia proper. The bump turned out to be short-lived, tanking in the wake of the dot-com bust.
It appears Philadelphia never fully recovered, clocking in at 666,000 (quite a number) annualized jobs at the end of 2013.
The more recent, modest job growth appears to be driven mainly by gains in the leisure and hospitality sector, and, to a lesser extent, by financial services, retail, transportation and utilities-related employment.
If job growth holds up, it could herald a new era for a city that had long been in economic free fall. But Philly's not there yet.
