On September 2nd, 2026, Keystone Research Center released its annual “State of Working Pennsylvania” report. A PDF Copy is available here.
Links To Report Materials
Report PDF | Press Conference Recording | Press Presentation Slides | Press Release
Key Findings:
- Growth slowed and narrowed
- Pennsylvania added 31,900 nonfarm jobs between July 2025 and July 2026, an increase of just 0.5%.
- The state added 54,100 jobs between January 2024 and July 2025, but only 34,700 between January 2025 and July 2026.
- The recovery’s gains are unwinding for Black and Hispanic workers
- Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate averaged 4.2% from January 2025 through July 2026, up from 3.8% over the previous 18 months.
- The 12-month average unemployment rate for Black workers rose from 3.8% in July 2023 to 6.5% in July 2026; for Hispanic workers it rose from a historic low of 4.4% to 8.7%.
- A decade of real wage gains — and persistent gaps
- Pennsylvania’s Median hourly wage was $26.88 (up 97¢ from 2024) and the US’s median hourly wage was $25.67 (up 19¢ from 2024)
- The strongest gains went to the lowest-paid workers: real wages at the 10th, 20th, and 30th percentiles were 21% to 25% higher in 2025 than in 2016, a reversal of decades of stagnation.
- Affordability remains a concern
- Residential electricity prices rose 59% in Pennsylvania between January 2020 and June 2026, compared with 44% nationally,
- Workers keep organizing against steep obstacles
- Pennsylvania’s union coverage rate fell from 14.2% in 2023 to 11.7% in 2025, and election activity slowed.
- Workers still want unions; approval of unions remained steady at 68% and workers continue to organize.
- A blueprint for the next governor
- The report closes with a Blueprint for the Governor, a single standard for judging major industrial projects competing for Pennsylvania’s limited energy, land, water, and public dollars, such as steelmaking and data center development. This section lays out important questions the Commonwealth should be asking about these projects: Does it add productive capacity? Does the public receive more value than it gives? Does it strengthen workers and Pennsylvania industry? And does the host community want it?