Mercer County has earned a dubious distinction while many of its citizens are having trouble earning anything at all.
The county has Pennsylvania’s third-highest unemployment rate, according to the latest figures available. Mercer County’s jobless rate of 12.1 percent is well above the state’s 8.9 percent and the nation’s 10 percent.
A story in Tuesday’s Herald looked beyond the obvious numbers to reveal a troubling reality.
The two commonwealth counties that outpace our jobless rate — Cameron and Fulton at 16.6 percent and 13.9 percent respectively — are apples to Mercer County’s orange. Both are thinly-populated rural areas with work forces that are best described as tiny.
Mercer County’s 53,700-strong civilian work force is 21 times the size of the working population in Cameron County and seven times that of Fulton. In fact, the number of unemployed in our county, nearly 6,500, is only about 1,000 fewer than in Fulton’s total work force.
For all intents and purposes, when it comes to unemployment, we’re No. 1.
It’s not news that the local employment picture has deteriorated over the last three decades. The exodus of manufacturing jobs and the attendant population loss and brain drain has damaged the entire region and turned once-prosperous communities into struggling, near-ghost towns.
Some may look at the numbers and say it’s all over for Mercer County. Stick a fork in us, we’re done.
But there could be an opportunity in those sad statistics.
In Washington today, the political mantra is “jobs, jobs, jobs.” The ideas flying around the halls of power are all about ways to get the nation working again.
We can think of no better place to try out those ideas than right here in Mercer County. If politicians think that they have the answers, then we offer up our struggling area as the perfect laboratory to test their theories.
Why not? Our local economic development experts and chambers of commerce chiefs are quick to tout the area’s strengths: Easy access to market through road and rail, a skilled and dedicated work force and quality of life. (Though that last one has taken a beating over the years.)
Consider this a challenge to our state and federal lawmakers, their policy experts and the financial titans that — as our national commitment to bailouts and protections for that industry, at least, indicates — are the key players in any recovery: If you can turn things around here, you can do it anywhere.
Opinion
OUR VIEW: Make county the test lab for job-creating proposals
- Opinion
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Juicy tips will be far fewer without ‘Scoop’ on the phone
I enjoyed calling him Scoop. I was the newspaper guy, but for more years than I can remember, Gary Douglas was at the other end of phone calls on a regular basis.
“Did you hear about this? Did you hear about that? Did you hear about so-and-so? Better check this out. I’ll bet you haven’t heard about this.”
That usually was the flow of the conversation. Most of the time he was right. Some of the tips turned into stories that were fit to print, and others not so much.
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The only thing we have to fear is fear-mongering
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Punxsutawney Phil, Mitt and a litany of bad GOP hopefuls
Here are some thoughts from a guy who doesn’t put a whole lot of stock in rascally rodents that make weather forecasts.
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In Ed Likovich’s yard, apples don’t fall very far from the tree
Adage tells us that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. It really applies to the Likovich family of Hermitage, specifically Ed the father and teacher and Ed the son and student.
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A smaller state legislature? Don’t hold your breath
Don't tell me that our state General Assembly is finally going to do what should have been done many years ago – cut the size of the Legislature.
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A sad end to life: History will determine JoePa’s legacy
I had the privilege, yes privilege and honor, of meeting Joe Paterno several times in my life, both as a student at Penn State and in my role as editor of The Herald. It was with a heavy heart when I learned that he was near death during the Mercer County Hall of Fame’s annual dinner at the Park Inn by Radisson Saturday, and that he had died Sunday.
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OUR VIEW: Dearth of candidate interest defies worth of legislative races
In case you hadn’t noticed, this is an election year. Actually every year is, but this is one of the big ones. Sure, there’s some sort of presidential race going on, but that’s just a sideshow to where the real action in this year’s election is – or at least should be.
Voters across the country will be electing every member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and here in Mercer County voters will help decide who represents three state House districts. -
Hall of Fame weekend stirs memories of ‘good old days’
Is there anything better than reminiscing about the “good old days”? That’s why I love the Mercer County Hall of Fame’s annual induction weekend.
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We couldn’t fool anyone - the neighborhood always snitched
An old African proverb tells us that it takes a village to raise a child. At least two books drawing lessons from the proverb have been written, including the most famous in 1996 by Hilary Clinton, “It Takes A Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us.”
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