Regional Labor Force Shifts Since the Onset of COVID-19
Similar to labor markets across the nation, employment levels in the Pittsburgh region contracted sharply with the onset of COVID-19 in early 2020. Though national employment levels have regained COVID-induced job losses, the Pittsburgh region employment levels remain below peaks reached prior to 2020. By various measures, employment in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area* (MSA) as of the spring of 2024 remains 10-25 thousand below comparable levels reached before the onset of Covid.
However, these overall shifts in employment levels mask significant changes taking place within the Pittsburgh region's labor force in recent years. Employment changes have not been even across age, race, gender and educational attainment. Here data is compiled from the U.S. Census Bureau's Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI) data to explore the changing characteristics of Pittsburgh region employment over a four-year period from the 2nd quarter of 2019 – before the onset of Covid – to the 2nd Quarter of 2023.
Per this QWI data, total employment in the Pittsburgh MSA as of the 2nd quarter of 2023 remained roughly 11,061, or 1.0%, below total employment in the 2nd quarter of 2019. By age, the largest decline in regional employment is for workers between the ages of 45 and 64. Over the four-year period workers in this age range declined by 27,497, a decline of 6.6%. There was a smaller decline of 7,913 (-3.4%) for workers between the ages of 25 and 34. The number of regional workers between the ages of 35 and 44, as well as workers aged 65 and over, both increased over this period. The number of Pittsburgh-region workers age 65 and over continues to increase and had the largest percentage gain over this period, increasing by 11,154 or just under 15%.
Employment changes within the Pittsburgh region have differed significantly by race since the onset of COVID. Over the four-year period, White-alone employment decreased by 23,378, or a decline of 2.5%. At the same time Black-alone employment increased by 4,432 (+5.0%), and Asian-alone employment increased by 4,218 (+14.4%). With the onset of COVID-19 in 2020, Black employment in the Pittsburgh region had initially declined by a greater percentage than the regional average and significantly more than the number of White-alone workers. However, since 2022 employment levels for Black workers in the Pittsburgh MSA have rebounded above pre-Covid levels.
By educational attainment, the number of employed workers with just a high school degree experienced the largest decline in the Pittsburgh MSA, contracting by 12,915 or a decline of -4.6% over the four-year period. Workers with some college or an associate's degrees experienced a smaller decline of 3,391 (-1.2%). Over this same period, workers with less than a high school degree increased by 2,237, an increase of 2.4%, while workers with a bachelor's degree or higher increased by 2,306, or a gain of 0.9%.
The QWI employment data presented here is produced via a federal-state data-sharing collaboration—the Local Employment Household Dynamics (LEHD) partnership—and publishes data on employment dynamics and workers' characteristics for counties and metropolitan areas. The QWI is a unique source of data on worker demographics, including detailed employment breakdowns by sex, age, education, race, and ethnicity.
