News & Brews June 21, 2021
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Outmigration costs PA big $$
Pennsylvania lost $1.7 billion in 2019 due to folks moving out of the state, according to a new analysis reported by the Center Square. The analysis, by Wirepoints, ranks PA 43rd in the nation in net adjusted gross income either gained or lost. Not surprisingly, the states gaining the most are Florida, followed by Texas, Arizona, and North Carolina. Meanwhile, the states at the bottom of the list include New Jersey, Illinois, California, and New York.
Is a budget compromise emerging?
This is the last full week before the June 30 end of our fiscal year, and lawmakers continue to work on a budget plan. PennLive reports that education is taking center stage and has some predictions on what a compromise might look like when it comes to spending billions of dollars in federal COVID relief funds.
PA has long way to go toward recovery
According to the latest unemployment numbers released Friday, our unemployment rate dropped to 6.9% in May, down two-tenths of a percentage point from April. We’re still more than a point above the national rate of 5.8%. Meanwhile, Capitolwire’s Chris Comisac writes (paywall) that the dip was due in part to some workers leaving the workforce. He notes, “While the state has added 592,200 jobs since May 2020 – an increase of 10.3 percent – Pennsylvania is still 371,000 jobs, or 6.1 percent, short of where it was in May 2019,” and he adds that some estimate that a portion of jobs lost may never be recovered.
About that Dem group cc’d on election grants email
Last week, I shared the story that a Democrat political group had been copied on an email advising a Delaware County councilwoman about the private election grants from the Mark Zuckerberg-funded Center for Tech and Civic Life. Well, yours truly dove into the numbers a bit more to show just how involved this group—Deliver Strategies—has been in trying to elect Democrats in PA.
VP Harris coming to PA today
Vice President Kamala Harris will be in Pittsburgh today, along with Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh. The Post-Gazette reports that the trip comes “as White House officials continue to tout the administration’s infrastructure plan.”