Pennsylvania Governor Rendell Says State Continued To Add Jobs In June; Outperform Nation

                               Harrisburg, PA  (CompNewsNetwork) - Governor Edward G. Rendell said today that Pennsylvania continued to show job growth in 2008 as the state's nonfarm job count1 rose by 800 in June, while the state's unemployment rate2 remained steady at 5.2 percent.
 
For the first half of the year, Pennsylvania's economy has outperformed the nation's. The U.S. economy lost jobs every month this year while Pennsylvania posted gains in four of the past six months.
 
“The fact that Pennsylvania continues to show job growth during such economically challenging times is good news for our workers and businesses,” Governor Rendell said. “In the past three months, we've added 6,800 new jobs to our employer's payrolls while the nation has lost 191,000 jobs. This is a clear indicator that our efforts to revitalize and strengthen our economy are paying off.
 
“For Pennsylvania to maintain its footing in a still-uncertain national economy, we must continue to provide economic opportunities like those approved in the recently signed 2008-09 state budget,” he said. “The budget includes major new investments in energy, education and infrastructure, so we can provide more opportunities that will benefit Pennsylvanians for decades to come. With this budget, Pennsylvania is well-positioned to deal with whatever lies ahead.”
 
Among the job-creating, economy-boosting initiatives in the budget, Governor Rendell's Rebuild Pennsylvania program includes $350 million in bonds to underwrite bridge projects that will be included in the state transportation improvement program. The combined funding will allow PennDOT to start repairs on 411 bridges this year.
 
The budget also includes Energy Independence Strategies that will invest $665.9 million in alternative energy, of which $237.5 million will go to consumers to lower their energy costs and help them join the new energy economy, and $428.4 million will go to create jobs and expand the alternative energy sector in Pennsylvania. Together, these measures will attract private sector investment and reduce America's dependence on foreign oil.