If you ask real estate professionals or urban-studies nerds to name some of the most dynamic and successful big cities in America you'll find that Philadelphia is often low on the list. However, in one respect Philadelphia has joined ranks with three cities that are always near the top. According to this article from the Philadelphia Business Journal Philadelphia has just joined Boston, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. as the only cities out of America's twelve largest with an industry other than "trade, transportation and utilities" as the largest source of employment. In Philadelphia the education and health services industry, often referred to as 'eds-and-meds' has recently overtaken the broad "trade, transportation and utilities" category as the region's top economic driver, with a 19.9% share of local jobs in the first quarter of 2010.
This is good news because the health services and education sector is growing much more rapidly than other sectors, is somewhat recession-resistant, and pays very good wages, all of which is good for Philadelphia's overall economy. Also gaining ground in Philly, the professional and business-services sector, which is now the third-place industry in Philadelphia and pays a very strong average weekly salary of $1,383.
These statistics provide hope that even as the formerly dominant manufacturing sector remains a tough nut to crack in Philadelphia, and in urban-America in general, new industries from more dynamic and high-wage, sectors can and will step in to keep our local economy growing. And hey, the slow-but-steady trade, transportation, and utilities sector that is tops in 8 out of America's 12 largest cities is still providing 18.5% of Philly-area jobs, a nice safety net to have if the eds-and-meds thing ever slows up.
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