Background: With the recent announcement from the president and a U.S. senator from Pennsylvania of the plan to invest $90 billion in artificial intelligence (AI) in the state over the next few years, it is useful to look at the recent 34 years of computer- and information-related employment in the Pittsburgh region. This Policy Brief will review the growth in overall jobs as well as computer and information jobs. Information, in broad terms includes publishing and broadcasting, as well as computer and data processing jobs. This review focuses on employment directly tied to computers, networks and database management.
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There are two sources of computer and information related employment. First is the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) monthly survey of payroll establishments. Second is the Department of Labor’s annual Occupation and Wage Survey (OWS). Both will be referred to in this Brief. Note that the OWS data reports more workers than the BLS’ statistics show. But they do tend to move together. The OWS likely includes a subsector (mostly government) that is not included in the BLS monthly industry survey of this sector or the occupations are reported differently in the two surveys.
BLS information sector jobs growth
By way of comparison to computer- and information-related jobs (national industry classification NAICS 518), it is useful to contrast the Pittsburgh eight-county metro area (MSA—Allegheny; Armstrong; Beaver; Butler; Fayette; Lawrence; Washington and Westmoreland) with the national gains in information jobs. Between 1990 and 2000 U.S. information employment grew 49.4 percent, adding 104,350 jobs. Over the same period, the Pittsburgh MSA’s information sector climbed by 23 percent—4,675 jobs.
The next 10 years, 2000 to 2010, saw a shrinkage to the NAICS 518 category-employment in the U.S. and in the Pittsburgh region. U.S. employment fell 23 percent (-72,750) while the Pittsburgh MSA saw a drop of 28 percent or 4,800 jobs. From 2010 to 2019 (the year before COVID), nationwide information employment surged by 41 percent—100,250 jobs. Unfortunately, Pittsburgh-area employment in the sector was essentially unchanged and did not share in the nation’s growth.
The five-year period between 2019 and 2024 (the latest full year of statistics) saw a marked improvement from the previous 10 years. Nationally, the sector added a remarkable 40 percent or 139,400 jobs. In the Pittsburgh MSA, the sector saw a gain of 10.7 percent or 2,040 jobs. Unfortunately, Pittsburgh-area employment in 2024 remained at roughly 5,000 or 20 percent of the level reached in 2000. In sum, Pittsburgh-area information jobs have failed to keep pace with the sector’s growth nationally.
The relatively slow growth in Pittsburgh MSA’s information employment is in line with the gap between national total private job gains since 2000 and the MSA performance. Nationally, private-sector jobs are up 21 percent over 24 years while the MSA has managed only a 3.5 percent rise over the same period.
Occupation and wage survey
As measured in the annual OWS, the Pittsburgh MSA saw computer and information and math employment rise from 21,320 in 2000 to 32,200 in 2024, an increase of 10,880 jobs or 51 percent. Nationally, over the same 24-year period, employment climbed 77 percent—2.26 million jobs. Interestingly, information-sector jobs increased as a share of all MSA jobs, moving from roughly 2 percent in 2000 to just 3 percent in 2024.
Unfortunately, information employment in the Pittsburgh MSA fell as a share of national information employment, dropping from 0.72 percent to 0.62 percent between 2000 and 2024.
Then, too, Pittsburgh-area information-related jobs were flat over the 10 years 2014 to 2024. There were, however, some interesting changes in the mix of jobs in the information sector during that 10-year period. Lower in job count were computer programmers, computer systems analysts and network support analysts. Job classifications with increases included software developers; software quality assurance; web security; network analysts; network security analysts; along with employment not fitting into the readily identifiable sectors. The software, software quality and network security were leading drivers of the information-job sector over the period.
Thus, the region could use a powerful stimulus to job growth in the information sector, as well as to overall private sector employment.
Implications and conclusions
The advent of AI could hold significant potential for the economies of Pennsylvania and the Pittsburgh area, which have lagged well behind in job gains in fast-growing metro areas and Right-to-Work states. However, predictions of job growth resulting from AI are difficult.
Certainly, advancements in science and technology, including medicine and computer design, can be expected to occur rapidly. Needed construction jobs related to electricity-generating plants and power transmission will grow significantly, as will construction jobs needed to build AI facilities.
As every advancement in technology and invention has shown, there can be dislocations and employment declines for some sectors. For example, farming and manufacturing have seen advancements in production equipment and technology that greatly reduced employment either absolutely or relative to the total employment in the country. Yet, historically, other sectors have greatly expanded to absorb the working-age population.
To be sure, improvements in technology have increased worker productivity substantially in many sectors. There are certain service sectors in which productivity gains are slower. Personal care services that require individual human contact will be less affected but will likely benefit from AI in some regard.
In short, AI will likely not increase employment very much directly. But it does have the possibility of having a large impact on sectors that will benefit from it.
