With 2020 looming, there is no question that Pennsylvania will be a crucial swing state for the eventual contenders. Inevitably, this matchup will be between President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. Much to the dismay of young progressive voters, who do not favor Biden, the former vice president would be an asset to winning Pennsylvania with his record of supporting unions, and his subtle rebuke of the radical economic policies embraced by his party.
However, former Vice President Biden will likely be faced with a booming Pennsylvania economy, which has grown and thrived under President Trump’s first term, after facing stagnant economic numbers under President Obama.
Per the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, the Pennsylvania unemployment rate had been sitting above the national unemployment rate steadily since before 2016; the Commonwealth’s unemployment rate has been on the decline since the election of President Trump, and the latest numbers show that Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate is only .01 percent higher than the stunning national employment rate of 3.8 percent. An unemployment rate as low as 3.9 percent is nothing short of impressive for the Keystone state, given that the last time unemployment was close to that low was January of 2007, when the unemployment rate was 4.3 percent.
As was a key campaign promise, President Trump has created an exorbitant amount of jobs on a national scale, and Pennsylvania is certainly no exception. Under the Trump presidency, the Commonwealth has added 115,000 jobs, keeping consistent with the employment upswing that Pennsylvania has felt since 2010. The Commonwealth has also seen a decline in those employees earning the minimum wage or less, which is significant for economic growth. The year 2018 marked less than 100,000 people falling into this category, approximately 96,300; this number marks the lowest number of Pennsylvania residents earning less than or equal to the minimum wage since 2006.
Most notably, consistent with the national trend, Pennsylvanians have seen their wages grow significantly. Per the Pennsylvania Center for Workforce Information and Analysis, wages grew 2.29 percent from July 2017 to June 2018, averaging $1,048.73.
Despite what Democrats want voters to think, economic numbers do not lie. Americans voted for President Trump largely because of his bold economic promises, and he has delivered overall. Of course, measuring votes based on the economy can often be objective, especially with regard to the stock market and Wall Street. However, Pennsylvanians are feeling tangible effects thanks to the bold tax and regulatory reforms of the Trump administration.
The eventual Democratic nominee, which so far seems to be former Vice President Joe Biden, will be forced to answer to these significant bouts of economic growth, and thus-far, no candidate has any tangible rebuke.