At our firm’s annual CPE Day, GYF welcomed Ellen Gaus, Market Research Manager for the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, as one of our guest speakers. Ellen has nearly a decade of experience researching economic and societal trends for organizations in our area. She presented a variety of statistics pertaining to economic development, job growth and population change in Southwestern Pennsylvania. As a firm, we are very appreciative of Ellen sharing her valuable insight into where our community stands today.
Ellen began her presentation by noting that our region has experienced a steady decline in population since the 1970s. In the last decade, this downward trend can be attributed to natural causes and domestic migration, while international migration into the area has been a steady source of growth. Butler and Washington counties are the two counties in Southwestern PA that have seen steady population growth in the last decade. Allegheny County, which contains the city of Pittsburgh, saw steady growth from 2010-2020, but has seen a slight decrease over the last few years. The recent decline is largely driven by residents moving out of the county. Ellen also elaborated that the growing counties in the greater region are located near I-79, a major highway running North and South on the west side of Pittsburgh.
After touching on overall regional trends, Ellen provided more detailed statistics by breaking the entire population into smaller demographic groups, noting that our region is older and less diverse than most other areas in Pennsylvania. Ellen then presented findings that showed diversity is the only source of growth in our region – over the last decade, we have seen a 66.3% increase in the Hispanic population as well as a 59.5% increase in the Asian population.
Following population trends, Ellen discussed the economics of our region’s situation. Some growing industries include Transportation and Warehousing and Educational Services, which have experienced an employment growth rate of 8.3% and 6.4%, respectively. However, there has been a large decline in employment in the Hospitality industry, which has lost roughly 7,400 jobs from June 2019 to June 2023.
To wrap the presentation up, Ellen highlighted different investments in our region that have helped spur economic development and create jobs. These investments include distribution centers as well as manufacturing plants.
Click here to access copies of the slides, links to resources and a video of the presentation
About GYF’s CPE Day: The firm presents this program each year to bring together clients, friends of the firm, and other professionals who are interested in gaining knowledge. The day is always filled with interesting presentations and great networking opportunities, and is generally attended by 300+ guests. If you have any questions about the material covered, or other issues we did not have time to address, please reach out to your GYF Executive or contact the office at 412-338-9300. We look forward to seeing everyone next year!
