Currently I am not working ~ had to "semi-retire" several years ago when illness hit me. I do plan on returning to the workforce if and when I get better but not even sure where to begin in this area.
I do know that I am under qualified for most anything now, unless I want a job in retail or fast food. I have experience and lots of it but no papers to prove it. That will make a difference in the long run.
Did anyone see this article in the Times News on Friday?
Our population drops
Erie, Crawford counties part of northwestern Pennsylvania trend
By George Miller
george.miller@timesnews.comThe populations of Erie and Crawford counties continue to slide along with others in northwestern Pennsylvania.
Erie County's head count dropped by 594 for the one-year period ending July 1, according to the latest U.S. Census estimates that were released last week. That brings the population loss for the decade to 1,751, or about 0.6 percent.
The county was one of 38 in the state with a declining population so far this decade. It had the smallest loss of those 38, according to the Penn State Data Center, the state's official source for population and economic statistics.
Crawford County's population dropped 1.9 percent, ranked 31st out of the 38. Its population declined by 1,703 for the decade and 224 for the latest one-year period.
Jake Welsh, Erie County's planning director, called his county's population loss "a pretty modest change."
Erie County's population has been fairly constant at about 280,000 since the 1980s, he said.
"We're still expecting some modest growth over the next 10 or 20 years," he said.
Erie County Executive Mark DiVecchio said he is concerned about the population loss.
He said he is hoping for a turnaround with efforts by the county and others to bring in new businesses and to work on other initiatives for growth.
He said much of the decline is due to students who are going away to college and not returning.
DiVecchio said he believes the proposed community college will help change that. Studies have shown that community college graduates stay in the community.
During the decade, an estimated 8,779 people left the county -- the third highest out-migration in the state, according to Census Bureau figures. Philadelphia had 100,262 leave and Allegheny County 45,417.
Erie County's out-migration was somewhat offset by more births than deaths and other factors.
In Crawford County, Commissioner Morris Waid said his county's population had been increasing until about the 2000 census, when it reached 90,366, and has been declining since. It is now estimated at 88,663.
"I feel bad," he said. "I don't like to see it continue to go down."
Like DiVecchio, he said some students leave to go to school and take jobs in other areas.
Waid said the latest figures might not reflect businesses that have started there recently.
"A lot of our industries are doing quite well," he said.
Elsewhere, nine of the top 10 counties with the biggest percentage drops are concentrated in the western and north-central part of the state, the center said.
Warren County had the third-largest drop at 6.6 percent. Venango County's population has dropped by 4.9 percent, or 2,802; and McKean County by 5 percent, or 2,303, the Census Bureau figures show.
Susan Copella, director of the data center, said Erie County's population drop is fairly small and is part of an overall trend in the state.
"The eastern part of the state is growing, and the western part is declining slightly," she said. The state's overall population has grown by 1.2 percent so far this decade.
Pike County, in the northeast, has ranked as the state's fastest-growing county each year since 2000, the data center said. It has grown by nearly 27 percent since 2000.
One northwestern county is a major exception to the declines. Forest County has had the largest increase of the decade so far at nearly 41 percent, but that is due largely to the construction of a state correctional facility in 2004, the data center said.
Philadelphia County is the state's largest with a population of 1,449,634, followed by Allegheny County at 1,219,210.
Erie County is the 14th most-populous county in the state. It has dropped a notch in the decade.
Crawford County has remained at 34th most-populous for the decade.
GEORGE MILLER can be reached at 870-1724 or by e-mail.
