Marcellus Shale Equals Economic Growth

Where there is Marcellus shale drilling there is economic growth. Over the past six years, Pennsylvania counties with Marcellus shale drilling saw the largest gains in economic growth.

The most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that counties with more than 200 Marcellus shale wells experienced greater job and wage growth than the rest of the state from 2008 to 2014 (as of the second quarter).

• Marcellus shale counties had, on average, 8.7 percent employment growth. Counties with no Marcellus shale activity had 0.6 percent job growth
• Marcellus shale counties averaged 29.9 percent growth in total wages. Counties with no Marcellus shale activity had less than half that amount.
• Average weekly wages among all jobs grew in Marcellus shale counties by an average of 20 percent, compared with 11 percent wage growth in non-Marcellus counties.

Susquehanna County led the state in both total wage growth and average weekly wage growth, while Sullivan County led in employment growth. Greene County ranked second in all three measures of economic growth.