Erie County historically has been a blue collar community with the steel industry being a primary source of employment for many residents. During the 1980’s many companies including Bethlehem Steel and Republic Steel, two of the largest employers in the County, closed the majority of their operations and laid off a preponderance of their workforce. As those factories/facilities closed, people took lower paying jobs or left the area all together. Due to the diverse nature of this population and the numerous variables affecting the delivery of services, it is a much more complex problem than a quick analysis would show. The primary industries in Erie County have since shifted from blue collar manufacturing industries to service industries. The number of manufacturing jobs fell from over 67,742 in 2000 to 47,681 in 2011. Conversely, in 1975 there were approximately 67,000 jobs in the service industry compared to over 200,000 service industry jobs in 2011. Employment in Erie County by Industry and Occupation Industry Population Percentage Educational Services, health care and social 119,809 27.7 assistance Manufacturing 47,681 11.0 Retail Trade 49,649 11.5 Professional, scientific, management, administrative, and waste management 42,803 9.9 services Arts, entertainment, recreation, 37,974 8.8 accommodation and food services Finance, insurance, real estate, and rental 32,591 7.5 and leasing Occupation Population Percentage Management, business, science, and arts 160,774 37.2 occupations Sales and office occupations 116,936 27.0 Service occupations 77,598 17.9 Production, transportation, and material 49,493 11.4 moving occupations Natural resources, construction, and 27,934 6.5 maintenance occupations (Source: American Community Survey, 2007-2011, 5 year estimates)
Erie County historically has been a blue collar community with the steel industry being a primary source of employment for many residents. During the 1980’s many companies including Bethlehem Steel and Republic Steel, two of the largest employers in the County, closed the majority of their operations and laid off a preponderance of their workforce. As those factories/facilities closed, people took lower paying jobs or left the area all together. Due to the diverse nature of this population and the numerous variables affecting the delivery of services, it is a much more complex problem than a quick analysis would show. The primary industries in Erie County have since shifted from blue collar manufacturing industries to service industries. The number of manufacturing jobs fell from over 67,742 in 2000 to 47,681 in 2011. Conversely, in 1975 there were approximately 67,000 jobs in the service industry compared to over 200,000 service industry jobs in 2011. Employment in Erie County by Industry and Occupation Industry Population Percentage Educational Services, health care and social assistance 119,809 27.7 Manufacturing 47,681 11.0 Retail Trade 49,649 11.5 Professional, scientific, management, administrative, and waste management services 42,803 9.9 Arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation and food services 37,974 8.8 Finance, insurance, real estate, and rental and leasing 32,591 7.5 Occupation Population Percentage Management, business, science, and arts occupations 160,774 37.2 Sales and office occupations 116,936 27.0 Service occupations 77,598 17.9 Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 49,493 11.4 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 27,934 6.5 (Source: American Community Survey, 2007-2011, 5 year estimates)