BETHLEHEM, PA, January 30, 2024 – Governor Josh Shapiro and Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) Secretary Rick Siger delivered on their promise to create the Pennsylvania Economic Development Strategy ― the first comprehensive plan of its kind to guide the Commonwealth’s economic growth in almost 20 years.
Since day one, Governor Shapiro and his Administration have been working aggressively to make Pennsylvania a leader in innovation and economic development and create economic opportunity for all Pennsylvanians. The new ten-year strategy, announced during a visit to global life sciences manufacturing company OraSure Technologies, will capitalize on the Commonwealth’s strengths and reignite our economy.
“For too long, Pennsylvania’s neighboring states have invested and focused on economic development while our Commonwealth has lacked a targeted game plan and serious investment,” said Governor Josh Shapiro. “With this plan, for the first time in nearly two decades, Pennsylvania has a serious economic development strategy that brings together our private and public sectors, our highly skilled workers, and our world-class universities. We’re ready to work together to grow our economy, create jobs, foster innovation and economic opportunity, and build vibrant communities – because when we work together, Pennsylvania Gets It Done.”
Pennsylvania has a strong foundation for the new economic development strategy, including our proximity to major U.S. markets and relatively low cost of doing business; more than 23 Fortune 500 companies and over 1 million small businesses in the Commonwealth; 190,000 skilled graduates produced by our colleges and universities every year; a diverse, talented workforce, and much more.
But there are challenges we must address to compete and succeed globally. For example, Pennsylvania faces critical workforce challenges, unnecessary barriers to success for new startups and tech spinoffs, and a complex and underfunded suite of economic development incentives. And there are deep disparities in economic performance among regions of our state, as well as a lack of targeted, meaningful focus on the key industries that drive our economy’s growth now and into the future.
Governor Shapiro is changing how we do business in Pennsylvania — and his Administration has hit the ground running, securing $1.2 billion in private sector investment, significantly cutting down business licensing time, and rethinking the way government can work at the speed of business in his first year. In that time, Pennsylvania added over 100,000 new jobs, increased economic output, and saw its unemployment rate drop.
Building on that progress, recognizing our strengths, and with a clear-eyed understanding of our challenges, Governor Shapiro’s plan sets forth five ambitious goals for our Commonwealth to:
• Invest in our economic growth to compete and prioritize economic development investments that capitalize on Pennsylvania’s strengths–and result in real opportunities for our businesses, communities, and residents.
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