New Research

Young PA Workers Today Earn 10 Percent Less Than Their Counterparts Nearly 30 Years Ago

Greater Education Offers Little Protection for Young Workers Union Membership Significantly Boosts Wages for Young Workers

Despite being better educated, young workers in Pennsylvania now earn 10 percent less than their counterparts did some 30 years ago.

According to a new report co-released by the Keystone Research Center in Harrisburg and the Center for Economic Policy and Research in Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania workers between the ages of 18 and 29 have seen their wages stagnate and the quality of their jobs deteriorate since 1979.

Mark Price, Ph.D., labor economist at the Keystone Research Center, said that after adjusting for inflation, a typical young Pennsylvania worker today earns $1.24 per hour less than similar workers did in 1979.

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Recently Published KRC Research

The State of Working Pennsylvania 2008. KRC's 12th annual review of the economic condition of Pennsylvania's middle class that the health of the Pennsylvania economy from their point of view.

The State of Rural Pennsylvania, reviews a decade of economic changes in the rural part of Pennsylvania and details the region's current economic condition in 2008.

Building Storm: The Housing Market and the Pennsylvania Economy, shows that while the Commonwealth has escaped some of the huge housing-related troubles that have struck neighboring states, Pennsylvania residents should not be lured into a false sense of security.

Losing Ground in Early Childhood Education a national study of the declining qualifications of early childhood educators with companion reports for California, Florida, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Wisconsin.

KRC Activities and Press Coverage

Stephen Herzenberg appeared on WITF Harrisburgh's Smart Talk Program to discuss The State of Rural Pennsylvania on May 29, 2008.

Stephen Herzenberg was interviewed about the economic proposals of the leading presidential candidates by the Harrisburg Patriot-News for an article appearing on March 30, 2008.

Stephen Herzenberg appeared on WITF's Smart Talk and addressed various economic issues confronting Pennsylvania.

Stephen Herzenberg appeared as a guest on WKOK radio's Leaders and Lawmakers program in Sunbury. Listen to the segment in .mp3 format.

Stephen Herzenberg spoke before the Central Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce on The State of Rural Pennsylvania in Shamokin Dam.

Executive Director Stephen Herzenberg was a guest on PCN-TV's PCN Call-In. He debated the merits of raising Pennsylvania's minimum wage with Kevin Shivers, State Director of National Federation of Independent Businesses. The program featured a number of KRC-prepared charts on the minimum wage in Pennsylvania.

Mark Price presented the findings of Losing Ground in Early Childhood Education in Pennsylvania to the "Success by Six" group of the Carlisle United Way.

Mark Price was a guest on Business Matters, a weekly show produced by WFMZ channel 69 in Allentown. Mark discussed the merits of raising Pennsylvania's minimum wage.

Price also appeared on WBAI-FM's live call-in show Talk Back. The New York City station's program discussed KRC's recent national Losing Ground release. Mark was also interviewed on 580-AM in Topeka Kansas about Losing Ground.

The KRC-authored national report on the declining qualifications of early childhood educators, Losing Ground in Early Childhood Education, has received press attention around the county. The study was the subject of articles in the Bergen County (New Jersey) Record, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and the New Mexico Business Weekly. The Losing Ground study was co-released with the Economic Policy Institute and the Foundation for Child Development and is available from www.earlychildhoodworkforce.com.

KRC's Losing Ground in Pennsylvania Early Childhood Education report was the subject of a report on Harrisburg's WHTM-TV Channel 27 during its News at 6 program in September, 2005. It has also been the subject of newspaper article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The video is available as a KRC video podcast.

KRC Executive Director Stephen Herzenberg testified before the Pennsylvania Senate Labor and Industry Committee at its minimum wage hearing at the Temple Street Center in Philadelphia. His testimony is available online.

KRC Executive Director Stephen Herzenberg was interviewed in September 2005 on KQV radio in Pittsburgh about The State of Working Pennsylvania 2005 and proposals to raise Pennsylvania's minimum wage.

KRC Executive Director Stephen Herzenberg was recently a guest on WHYY Philadelphia's Radio Times program to debate proposals to raise Pennsylvania's minimum wage with chair of the state's National Federation of Independent Businesses. This program is available as a KRC podcast.