Employers expect sales growth, cite concerns over skills gap in PA Chamber survey

The Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry recently released its 29th Economic Survey, in which employers expressed confidence about economic growth but cited workforce concerns.

Many employers said they expect increased sales and business growth over the coming months. However, the majority of employers also listed the jobs skills gap as the most significant challenge facing their business.

“The economic strides we’ve seen over the past few years has led to low unemployment in the Commonwealth,” PA Chamber President and CEO Gene Barr said. “However, there continue to be people without jobs and job openings without the people with the skills to fill them. The growing jobs skills gap continues to be a major concern for the Commonwealth’s business community. It’s a problem that stretches across all industry sectors in every region of the state. We’re proud to be working with a broad coalition of organizations and lawmakers dedicated to finding innovative solutions to address the Commonwealth’s jobs skills gap.”

This is the second year in a row that employers reported that workforce is their “top of mind” issue. A combined 43 percent rated the quality of Pennsylvania’s workforce as either “excellent” or “good,” which is the lowest ranking on record. Twenty percent rated it as “poor,” a new high for the category.

Additionally, nearly 55 percent of respondents reported that lowering business taxes is one of the top issues they want legislators to focus on in Harrisburg.

Susquehanna Polling and Research surveyed 650 employers in August 2019. The survey was completed in partnership with the Initiative for Family Business and Entrepreneurship at Saint Joseph’s University.