Report: Penn a key source of area jobs

The University's first economic impact survey in five years shows that it has had a major role in the city and state economy. University officials showcased Penn's role as an economic powerhouse in Southeastern Pennsylvania with the release of a year-long comprehensive economic impact study last month. Jack Shannon, the University's top economic official, said the report gives a snapshot of Penn's financial influence both in the city and the state by measuring the University's economic impact over areas such as employment, spending and neighborhood development. "[The study] confirmed for us that the University is a major economic engine not only for the city but for the commonwealth as well," Shannon said. The University contributes $4.3 billion annually to the commonwealth's economy, with $1.5 billion of that going to Philadelphia, through direct and indirect economic activity, the study said. In addition, the University's 28,169 employees make it not only Philadelphia's largest private employer -- with twice as many employees as the next largest, Jefferson Health Systems -- but also the second largest employer in Pennsylvania, the study said. While Philadelphia's employment rolls fell by 80,000 -- or 13 percent -- between 1990 and 1997, Penn's levels increased a total of 12 percent within Pennsylvania and 3 percent in Philadelphia alone, the study also reported. Director of Community Relations Glenn Bryan said the study's figures "demonstrate Penn's commitment to the city and region in terms of the city's economic growth and development." From 1990 through 1997, Penn's annual growth rate has been 9 percent -- about five times the annualized growth rate of the city's total goods and services. Bryan attributed this widening gap to the University's acquisition of several hospitals. And Shannon noted that the city is not the only one to benefit from its partnership with the University. "[The study] demonstrates just how synergistic of a relationship there is between the city and the University on a variety of levels," he said, adding that not only does Philadelphia benefit economically from Penn but that Penn also profits from its location. "Being in such a great city? enables the University to attract the best and the brightest." In recent years, the University has spent millions of dollars building up its surrounding community in West Philadelphia, including a joint project with the city to build a public school in University City. Because of massive construction projects like the $120 million Sansom Common -- the single largest commercial investment in West Philadelphia's history -- Penn has more than quadrupled it's overall spending in West Philadelphia over the past five years. Bryan said Penn's recent spate of construction has been "a major boom to the local economy and region economy." Shannon agreed. "Our recent capital development program has meant that on the construction front we have pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into the commonwealth," he said. From 1995 up to 1998, Penn spent $255 million on construction projects, including Sansom Common and the Stellar-Chance Building. With residential housing renovations, Hamilton Square and Huntsman Hall all part of Penn's to-do list for the next decade, Penn will spend another $1.3 billion on construction between 1998 and 2008, the study indicated. Bryan said this major dedication of funds has made construction one of the University's "very key growth industries." He added that in addition to providing jobs, the numerous construction projects "keeps dollars in our own local economy" because the University has begun to rely more on regional and West Philadelphia companies. Financial information for the study, which is based on an in-depth analysis performed by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, was taken from Fiscal Year 1997, which ended June 30, 1997. The University released its last economic impact study in 1992. Since that report, "Penn has grown in many different ways and its impact has correspondingly increased," Shannon said.

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