More Good News on Leading Sectors Driving Our Region’s Tech Economy
It is our pleasure to share another cycle of good news not just for the Philadelphia-area tech, but for the impact it is having in the greater Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as well.
Highly Skilled Workers: According to Randstad USA salaries in Philadelphia are 17 percent higher than the national average, making it clear that Philly enterprises are recruiting and hiring highly skilled workers. This is no surprise given the importance of thriving sectors like science, pharma, finance, technology, professional services, and education in our area. Those are also the segments of our economy leading the charge in absorption of AI solutions.
Bright Futures Sticking Around: We’ve all seen the stats from areas where productive people are leaving for greener pastures, places like California, Illinois, and New York. That is not the case here in Eastern Pennsylvania. Not only are our colleges and universities top-notch, but 54% of college graduates in Greater Philadelphia stay in the area according to CONNECTCONVERGE, sticking around here at a rate more than 20% higher than those educated in Boston, a metro area Philadelphia is frequently compared to.
Bio/Pharma Centers: With all the focus on AI and massive new data centers being built, other job-creating development may be overlooked. Two massive biotech and pharma facilities are being constructed in our area. Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Bio Tech will create 500 bio-manufacturing jobs with their $1+ billion plant in Montgomery County. Eli Lilly is creating more than 850 jobs with their $3.5 billion pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in the Lehigh Valley, an area being hailed as a pharma hub by that industry’s media.
Growing Tech Education and Startup Support: To our west, the Pennsylvania College of Technology, a Penn State affiliate, has enjoyed an enrollment boom, with a 9.2% growth in their student body from Fall 2023 to Fall 2025. Residents of our state want to be technologists. And many of these grads will find their way east to the Philadelphia region to start their careers.
Momentum Builds…. and Continues: When we think of all the good tech news in our area, which we’ve previously reported on here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here, it reminds us of the gratitude we should feel to be in a tech-centric area whose key sectors are so innovative and leading us to such growth. We look forward to sharing the next edition of good news in Eastern Pennsylvania tech. With all that’s going on around us it won’t be long.