“It is not clear that jobs will go to Broome County (or even New York) residents. Reports from Pennsylvania indicate that 70 percent of gas-rig jobs are going to people from out of state who are often transient, non-permanent workers, sending their earnings to their families to spend in their home states.”  

This is what Jannette Barth said in a November, 2010 piece in the Elmira Star-Gazette and she has been busy saying similar things elsewhere — drawing on her expertise as an art economist and transit expert.  Jannette chooses her facts quite selectively (notice how she talks about drilling jobs and not all natural gas related jobs) but the truth always comes out, in this case from Pennsylvania’s Department of Labor and Industry in its April, 2011 Marcellus Fast Facts report.   Donald Gillialand summarizes in this Harrisburg Patriot News story entitled Marcellus Shale Drilling Creates 48,000 Jobs. Here are some key points from Gilliland’s story and the Marcellus Fast Facts report (after the jump):

• There’s been nearly a 1,300 percent increase in core Marcellus industry jobs in the Northern Tier counties of Bradford, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga and Wyoming since 2008. The central counties including Lycoming, Clinton, Centre, Columbia and Northumberland saw an increase of more than 660 percent. Employment in the mining and logging sector, which includes Marcellus drilling, has increased more than 57 percent in the last decade, with more than half that increase occuring in the last 12 months.
• Marcellus Shale industries total employment was 141,000 for the 3rd quarter of 2010, which was 2% of Pennsylvania’s total employment.

• Nearly 500 establishments were added (277 core, 205 ancillary) between the 1st quarter of 2008 and the 3rd quarter of 2010.  This represented 50 percent growth in core industries and a 3 percent growth in the ancillary industries (1 percent growth for all Pennsylvania industries).  Marcellus Shale industries (8,757 total establishments) now make up 3 percent of all Pennsylvania establishments.

• The average wage across all industries in the Commonwealth for the most recent four quarters available was $45,491 but the average wage in the Marcellus Shale core industries was $69,995, which was more than $24,500 greater than the statewide average and the average wage in the ancillary industries was $63,967, which was nearly $18,500 greater than the statewide average.

• There were 48,000 new hires within the Marcellus Shale core and ancillary industries from the 4th quarter of 2009 until now and 9,000 in the 1st quarter of 2011 alone..  Areas with Marcellus Shale drilling activity have also seen notable decreases in unemployment rates as the following chart illustrates.

Notice how well Northern Tier and Central counties that are part of our region did as a result of Marcellus Shale industries growth.  Can there be any doubt as to what is happening?  Can anyone believe Jannette Barth after seeing this?  To ask is to answer.  Let’s be honest – she completely missed the wave.