Challenges to the workforce in rural areas were the focus of a recent State Senate committee hearing.
While there’s a tight labor market all across the Commonwealth, Acting Labor Secretary Nancy Walker says those challenges are even greater in rural Pennsylvania.
“We are seeing transportation issues and there are more homes that have workers than reliable transportation. We need to address those issues,” Walker said. “We’re also seeing problems with respect to access to reliable internet. That’s challenging not only having workers find jobs and businesses finding workers, but also for remote work that so many workers are taking advantage of.”
Officials also say that rural populations have stagnated, staying around 3.4 million people for several decades in Pennsylvania. However, they note that problem is not exclusive to just the Keystone State.
