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THE COUNTY ECONOMY
PLANNING ISSUE
A few industries that have
been historically strong in the
county, such as manufacturing
and information, have seen
significant employment
declines over the past decade.
What’s New
•
The manufacturing sector in Montgomery County
has lost 30,000 jobs since 2001. It is currently the
fourth largest industry in the county behind
healthcare, retail, and professional, scientific, and
technical services. The county’s manufacturing
sector still ranks first in Pennsylvania, as the
economy and loss of jobs to cheaper labor markets
has affected many high manufacturing employment
areas in the commonwealth and nation.
•
The other industry sector that rapidly declined this
decade was the information sector. The largest
losses in this sector occurred during the first half of
the decade as technology reduced demand for
traditional media publications and wired
telecommunications.
•
The largest increase in employment is in the
professional, scientific, and technical services sector,
which gained over 12,000 jobs since 2001. Its fastest
growing subsector services were scientific research
and development and accounting services.
•
County businesses continue to evolve. Recently,
Dow Chemical purchased Rohm & Haas and
announced it will move some operations to the Pfizer
campus, which Pfizer had bought from Wyeth.
Almac, an Irish pharmaceutical company,
consolidated its North American operations at a new
headquarters in Lower Salford.
Jobs of County Residents
Jobs in the County
County Businesses
Downtown Areas
Office, Industrial, and
Brownfield Areas
Retail Commercial Areas
Tourism
Agriculture and Farm
Preservation
Employment Forecasts and
Economic Trends
#
COMPANY
INDUSTRY SECTOR
1
Merck & Co., Inc.
Pharmaceutical Manufacturing & Research
2
Abington Memorial Hospital
Health Care
3
Main Line Hospitals
Health Care
4
Giant Food Stores
Retail Trade
5
GlaxoSmithKline
Pharmaceutical Manufacturing & Research
6
Montgomery County
Public Administration
7
United Parcel Service
Transportation and Warehousing
8
North Penn School District
Educational Services
9
SEI Investments Company
Finance and Insurance
10
Wal-Mart Associates
Retail Trade
FIGURE 99:
Top Employers in Montgomery County
Source: PA Center for Workforce Information and Analysis
County Businesses
Montgomery County has a fairly diverse base of industries
and enterprises, which in the past has enabled the county to
weather broad economic downturns as well as specific
industry shortcomings. The majority of the county’s
industries are classified in service providing sectors as
opposed to goods producing sectors. In fact, only 14% of
the total jobs in 2013 were held in goods producing
industries. It wasn’t always this stark of a contrast. Going
back to 1970, over 40% of jobs in the county were in goods
producing industries. That percentage was halved by 2000,
when there were 20% of jobs in goods producing industries.
According to the
2012 County Business Patterns
, private
industry groups from the service sector with over 10,000
employees include company management, general hospitals,
restaurants, insurance carriers, building/dwelling services,
employment services, and grocery stores. One goods
producing industry, pharmaceutical manufacturing and
research, is also considered among the county’s largest
industries, although the Census Bureau withholds actual
employment figures due to the small number of companies.
Pharmaceuticals, both manufacturing and research & development, have
been an important part of the county economy.
