State of Working Pennsylvania 2025

The Keystone Research Center (KRC) recently released its annual “State of Working Pennsylvania” report, providing a comprehensive analysis of the Commonwealth’s economic conditions as Labor Day approaches. The report highlights a weakening economy from workers’ perspective and the need for policy reversals and labor organizing to restore an economy that benefits working families.

View a recording of the press conference about the release of the report. 

View the slide deck from the press conference (PDF).

How Federal Clean Energy & Manufacturing Funds Spurred Private Spending

A new report from Keystone Research Center and ReImagine Appalachia reveals that federal investments in clean energy and manufacturing have catalyzed a major economic transformation across Appalachia, doubling clean energy investments in just one year. Titled “If You Fund It, They Will Come,” the report shows that public funding through landmark legislation such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) has spurred significant private investment, leading to billions of dollars in new energy and manufacturing projects across Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

READ THE REPORT

Minimum Wage County Fact Sheets

KRC has released fact sheets that demonstrate how Pennsylvania’s current $7.25 minimum wage falls far short of what workers need to survive, with county-level data showing even a $15 wage is insufficient in many areas. The research highlights the significant gap between the minimum wage and actual living costs across different regions of the state. Using the Economic Policy Institute’s Family Budget Calculator, KRC calculated the true cost of housing, food, transportation, healthcare, and other necessities for Pennsylvania families. Learn how proposed increases in the PA minimum wage would impact workers across the Commonwealth and why advocates argue these changes are long overdue.

VIEW THE MINIMUM WAGE FACT SHEETS

Know the Issues

KRC and PBPC bridge the fragments of the progressive community — labor, faith-based organizations, advocates for and providers of human services, women’s groups, organizations of people of color, environmentalists, and others — seeking to create a unified vision and agenda around which all can rally.

That means we do research and analysis on a number of different issues. Here, you can learn about the issues we focus on, including:

Healthcare
Education
The Environment
Infrastructure
Jobs and the PA Economy
A Fair Tax System
VIEW ALL ISSUES

Third and State BlogA progressive take on public policy in Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.

Previous Next