Executive Summary
P R E S S R E L E A S E
For Immediate Release:
March 2, 2009
Contact: Harvey M. Rice
(215) 686-6696
Financial Crisis Could Push Philadelphia’s Unemployment Rate to 9%
Retail, service and construction sectors affected
PHILADELPHIA – City Controller Alan Butkovitz today released the Monthly Economic Snapshot and Monthly Economic Forecast Review for January that shows Philadelphia’s strain of city-budget problems is likely to ripple outward to retail, service and construction sectors, pushing unemployment up to almost nine percent.
Philadelphia’s education and medical industries are expected to offer stability to the weakening economy. Philadelphia is following the same trend of increased job losses as the entire state as well as the nation.
Pennsylvania ranks third for job losses, with nearly 30,000 jobs lost to mass layoffs. California and New York had more job losses with 54,153 and 31,893 respectively.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia diffusion index, which measures the confidence of manufacturers, fell to -41.3, far below what was expected and the lowest it’s been in 18 years.
The Monthly Economic Snapshot presents key economic data for the United States, the Greater Philadelphia Region, and the City of Philadelphia. The Monthly Economic Forecast Review is a collection of projections from prominent economic institutions and an analysis of their forecasts of future economic performance. These two documents together — the Snapshot and the Forecast Review — are a useful tool for policy makers and analysts in understanding our city’s and country’s economy.
The Economic Snapshot and Monthly Forecast are compiled by the Financial and Policy Analysis staff. The City Controller’s office circulates these documents on a monthly basis to assist key decision makers in understanding and anticipating local and national economic trends.