ts middle class</p>
  <p>This year's report details how wage stagnation
      has spread throughout most of the Pennsylvania wage distribution
    in&nbsp;2003,
      with the
      lowest-paid workers losing ground for the third year in a row.</p>
  <p>In spite of three years of over-all economic recovery, the inflation-adjusted
    hourly earnings of typical low-wage Pennsylvania workers fell
    10 cents per hour between 2003 and 2004 and 15 cents per hour
    since 2001, to $7.16 per hour. Falling wages contributed
    to a rise in Pennsylvania poverty rates by 20 percent since 1999-2000. </p>
  <p><em>The State of Working Pennsylvania 2005</em> argues that the
    General Assembly should raise Pennsylvania's minimum wage to offset
    declining wages and purchasing power for the Commonwealth's low-wage
    workers.</p>
  <p>To download the report free of charge and for more on SWP 2005
    visit <a href="http://www.stateofworkingpa.com">www.stateofworkingpa.com</a>. </p>
  <p class="aritcle_head1">Minimum Wage </p>
  <h1>Stephen Herzenberg Testifies Before PA Senate Labor and Industry
    Committee </h1>
    <p>KRC Executive Director Stephen Herzenberg recently testified
      before the Pennsylvania Senate's Labor and Industry Committee
      during its hearings in Philadelphia on the minimum wage.</p>
    <p>Dr. Herzenberg made the case for raising Pennsylvania's minimum
      wage as an appropriate response to the wage decline among low
      wage workers documented in <em>The State of
      Working Pennsylvania 2005</em>. The text of Herzenberg's testimony
      submitted to the committee is available for <a href="publications/pdf/krc_shtestimony_090605.pdf">download</a>,
      and a summary of <em>The State of Working Pennsylvania
      2005</em> is available
      at <a href="http://www.stateofworkingpa.com">www.stateofworkingpa.com</a>. </p>
    <p>Over
        forty academic and private-sector economists from around the
        state signed the statement calling for a rise in the Pennsylvania's
        minimum wage and explaining its importance to the Commonwealth's
        economy. You can read the economists' statement or download
        a pdf version from: <a href="http://www.paminimumwage.com">www.paminimumwage.com</a></p>
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  <p class="rightstory_head1">The MINIMUM WAGE PAGE </p>
  <p>To review all  of KRC's recent releases and research on raising Pennsylvania's minimum wage  visit the <a href="minwage/index.php">minimum wage page</a>. </p>
  <p class="rightstory_head1">PolICY WATCH </p>
  <p><a href="presspdf/PW_Few_Adults.pdf">Few Working Adults Would
      Benefit from a State Hourly Minimum Wage Increase to Only $6.25 </a>(PDF)</p>
</div>
<div class="rightstory">
  <p class="rightstory_head1">Current press releases</p>
  <p><em><a href="mediacenter/pressreleases/2006/PR020606.htm">Treadmill
          to Nowhere: </a></em><a href="mediacenter/pressreleases/2006/PR020606.htm">Many
      Low-Wage Workers Do Not See Earnings Gains Even After Six Years,
      Keystone Research Finds</a></p>
  <p><a href="mediacenter/pressreleases/2006/PR012606.htm">Income Inequality Grew Significantly in Pennsylvania
      from 1980s to 2000s</a></p>
  <p><a href="mediacenter/pressreleases/2006/PR012406.htm">Adults Would Benefit
        Most from Raising Pennsylvania's Minimum Wage</a></p>
  <p><a href="mediacenter/pressreleases/2006/PR012306.htm">New Estimates by KRC Show that Three-Quarters
        of a Million PA Workers Would Benefit from $7.15/hour Minimum
      Wage Increase</a></p>
  <p><a href="mediacenter/pressreleases/2005/PR121305.htm">Keystone Research Center Estimates Number of Workers in Each
      PA County Who Would Benefit from a Minimum Wage Rise</a> </p>
  <p>    For earlier press releases,
      visit the <a href="mediacenter/index.php">Media
        Center.</a></p>
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<div class="rightstory"><p class="rightstory_head1">KRC OP-EDS</p>
  <p><a href="mediacenter/opeds/2005/OPED090405.htm">To Raise or Not
      to Raise?</a>
  <p>For earlier op-eds, visit the <a href="mediacenter/opeds/index.htm">Media
      Center.</a>  
</div>
<div class="rightstory"><p class="rightstory_head1">The pa policy Blog</p>
<p>The PA Policy Blog provides horserace- free coverage of Pennsylvania
  policy issues at <a href="http://www.papolicyblog.com">www.papolicyblog.com</a>
</div>
<div class="rightstory"><p class="rightstory_head1">KRC RSS</p>
<p>You can keep up-to-date on KRC press releases and events without
  the hassle of email via one or more <a href="mediacenter/krcrss/krcrss.htm">KRC
    RSS feeds.</a></p>
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<div class="rightstory"><p class="rightstory_head1">OTHER KRC WEB SITES</p>
<p>The Keystone Research Center maintains a number of web sites on
  a variety of economic and policy issues, including:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.stateofworkingpa.com">www.stateofworkingpa.com</a>
    <a href="http://paminimumwage.com">www.paminimumwage.com</a><br />
    <a href="http://www.earlychildhoodworkforce.com">www.earlychildhoodworkforce.com </a>
     <a href="http://www.keystoneresearchmap.org">www.keystoneresearchmap.org</a></p>
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