Chamber official: More must be done to bolster local economy
EAST MARLBOROUGH >> Pennsylvania’s economy is stagnant and losing population and local officials and lawmakers must back a new initiative to end this trend.
That was the message from Guy Ciarrocchi, president and CEO of the Chester County Chamber of Business and Industry at its annual dinner meeting.
“For too long, even while Chester County’s economy has been among America’s best, our state’s economy continues to be in the 40s among the 50 states, and we cheer when we hit the middle of the pack,”Ciarrocchi said. “This must end.”
Ciarrocchi said Pennsylvania has been among the weakest state economies — low in job growth, revenue growth, and population growth. But many of business leaders are committed to reversing this course. Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate is 4.7 percent, while the national jobless rate is 4.1 percent. For almost a year, Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate has exceeded the national average.
Cirrocchi, a local attorney from Tredyffrin Township, said an initiative called GrowPA could help to reverse the trend. Grow PA is a statewide initiative to convene people and organizations throughout Pennsylvania to establish a modern economic growth agenda for the 21st century.
“Soon, we will present policymakers in Harrisburg with a policy blueprint, a business plan,” he said. “We need to grow our economy and stop our population tailspin. If we grow the economy, jobs will be created and people go to work, tax revenues will grow, public assistance goes down and the quality of life improves.”
Ciarrocchi said for too many economic quarters, there have been more job vacancies than job seekers in Chester County. Yet, he said, many cannot get into the workforce, creating a workforce development challenge.
“Our chamber will be a leader in this effort,” he said, “working with educators, employers, community leaders and policy makers to connect employers and would-be employees. Our goal is not only to fill vacancies this year and next year, but to build a plan that meets the demands of 2020, 2025 and beyond.”
Cirracchi told a crowd of about 300 local business leaders that inaction will be catastrophic for the local economy.
“We can just keep raising taxes, increasing the number of people seeking assistance, and our kids will keep moving to the Carolinas and Texas,” he said. “More and more of the economic growth of southeastern Pennsylvania will be sent to Harrisburg to subsidize other areas of our state. We have a choice – growth and opportunity or stagnation and redistribution.”
Cirrocchi is one of Chester County Landscapes3 Steering Committee members. He has been the president and chief executive officer of the Chester County Chamber of Business and Industry since 2014. Prior to that, he served as chief of staff to former Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley. He also previously served as a township supervisor and planning commissioner in Tredyffrin, and he was a member of the county’s Children, Youth and Families Citizen Advisory Committee.