Nov. 7—WILKES-BARRE — Teri Ooms, executive director at The Institute for Public Policy and Economic Development at Wilkes University, this week said in order to address Northeast Pennsylvania's needs in terms of workforce development, it is necessary to understand the composition of the region's labor market, as well as past and projected trends in employment.

"This information can help stakeholders identify which occupations are growing or shrinking, and where there may be gaps between the occupations in high demand and the availability of workers qualified to fill those positions," Ooms said.

According to the 2021 Indicators report of The Institute for Public Policy & Economic Development at Wilkes University, data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey from 2015 to 2019 show that the labor force participation rate in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties was about 61 percent — slightly lower than the statewide and national participation rate (both approximately 63 percent).

Ooms said participation among the prime-age labor force (workers between the ages of 25 and 54) was 82 percent in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties.

The region's median household income and per capita income are both noticeably lower than those of Pennsylvania and the United States.

"It is worth noting that the median age in the two-county region is comparatively high at 42.5 years, and the region's population is gradually declining in size," Ooms said.

Educational attainment

A larger share of adults in Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties have a high school diploma as their highest level of educational attainment than in Pennsylvania or the United States as a whole.

While a slightly larger share of adults in the two-county region have earned associate's degrees compared to the state and national rates, the region has a lower rate of attainment of bachelor's and postgraduate degrees.

Credentialing and certificates are not measured, yet these types of higher education completions are very important to many existing and new occupations.

Employment trends

As of the third quarter of 2020, there were about 240,000 employed workers in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties. More than a third of these workers (87,000, or 36 percent) were employed in the region's three largest major occupation categories.

These occupation categories, defined using 2-digit Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) codes, are Office and Administrative Support (approximately 33,000 workers); Transportation and Material Moving (32,000); and Sales and Related Occupations (22,000).

A large share of workers in Northeast Pennsylvania are employed in jobs directly related to healthcare, reflecting the healthcare industry's status as one of the largest employers in the region. Together, the categories of Healthcare Support Occupations and Health Care Practitioners and Technical Occupations employ more than 31,000 workers. This combined group of healthcare-related occupations would be the region's third largest occupation category.

According to projections from JobsEQ, Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations are going to see the greatest labor shortages out of any occupation in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties in the next 10 years. Average annual wages in this category are among the highest in the region, at $76,000.

"In other words, these jobs will be in high demand and they pay well on average relative to other jobs," Ooms said. "Although these jobs appear to be available and desirable, there are challenges to addressing labor shortages in this area."

First, Ooms said healthcare practitioner jobs often require specialized post-secondary education or training.

Second, even though these jobs pay well relative to others in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties, qualified professionals and new graduates may be able to earn higher wages if they leave to work.

Finally, healthcare practitioner jobs are likely difficult to do remotely, meaning initiatives to attract remote workers may not be effective as a direct method for addressing shortages in this particular category.

Healthcare support occupations — another of the region's largest categories — have grown significantly in the last 10 years, at an average rate of 1.9 percent per year.

"Employment in this category is projected to grow more than in any other major occupation category over the next 10 years, with an annual growth rate of 1.3 percent and the creation of more than 2,000 new jobs," Ooms said. "However, the average annual wages for this occupation are relatively low, at just over $29,000. Pay is particularly low for home health and personal care aides, the jobs which will be driving the majority of the growth in this field (these are also among the fastest growing occupations in the region overall)."

Ooms added that there are projected labor shortages among healthcare support occupations despite the high rate of job growth. This may be due in part to the low wages of home health and personal care aide jobs. Shortages may also be partly due to other challenges reportedly facing the home health industry in Pennsylvania that have been exacerbated during the pandemic.

Some of these challenges include transportation issues, high turnover rates, a lack of training for home health professionals, and the high levels of risk and pressure associated with working on the front lines of the pandemic with highly vulnerable populations.

Ooms said community and social service occupations have the second highest projected annual growth rate at about 1 percent for the next 10 years, creating 460 new jobs. Similar to healthcare support occupations, these jobs are expected to see shortages over the coming decade. Average wages in this occupation category are just over $45,000, which is higher than the average wages of healthcare support workers, but community and social service jobs — made up largely of counselors and social workers — also tend to have more demanding education requirements (usually a post-secondary degree or higher).

Ooms said the second largest category is transportation and material moving occupations, with nearly 32,000 employees. This category also has the highest location quotient (LQ) of any occupation category in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties, meaning it employs a significantly larger share of workers in the region compared to the national average.

Employment in the transportation and material moving jobs has grown over the last decade by close to 6,000 new jobs. JobsEQ's 10-year forecast predicts a slight downward trend in employment under this category.

Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.