Pittsburgh Jobs Created by EDMC Expansion
One company's expansion will create hundreds of Pittsburgh jobs.
Education Management Corporation recently announced its plan to invest $30 million to expand in Pittsburgh, a move that will help create about 600 new jobs during the next three years and retain another 2,500 existing positions. The company currently employs about 20,000 workers in 93 locations throughout the United States and Canada.
EDMC. provides post-secondary educational services. According to an article by CoStar Group, the company has leased an additional 17,589-square-feet of space in the building where its headquarters is located. EDMC also will expand its 157,555-square-foot online higher education facility by 27,018-square-feet.
Outside of Pittsburgh, EDMC is currently building a 41,367-square-foot data center in Robinson Township, Pa. The first phase of that project will establish administrative offices that are expected to open during spring 2010. The data center itself is slated to be online by 2011.
"This project - and the large number of high-paying jobs it will bring - is great news for the Pittsburgh region, especially in this economy," Gov. Edward G. Rendell said.
The Governor's Action Team and the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance worked together to support EDMC's expansion in the city. The company will receive a $5.75 million incentive package from the State of Pennsylvania, including a $3 million opportunity grant, $1.25 million in infrastructure assistance, $1.2 million in job creation tax credits and $300,000 for job training assistance.
In addition, EDMC will receive $250,000 from Allegheny County, including a community block grant worth $100,000 and $150,000 for job training assistance.
The additional jobs should add to the Pittsburgh area's stabilizing economy, which has maintained a monthly increase in employment, despite a slight increase in unemployment and loss of jobs when compared to last year.
During October, Pittsburgh saw its unemployment rate increase from 7.5 percent to 7.7 percent, following a decrease from 7.9 percent during September. Despite the increase, the city's rate is still lower than the national unemployment rate at the time of 10.2 percent.
Pittsburgh had a total non-farm employment of 1,127,100 workers during October, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is up from 1,122,300 workers during September, but a 2.9 percent decrease from last year.