Berks Vital Signs

Why is this important?

A companion to the better-known unemployment rate, the employment-to-population ratio is an indicator of people's willingness and ability to find work. In a period of rapid economic growth, a larger share of the population (including teens, second earners in a family, and elders) will find a role in the workforce.

How is our county performing?

The employment-to-population ratio for Berks County was 78% in 2018, slightly higher than Pennsylvania, at 77%, and the nation, at 60%. Between 2000 and 2018, the county's ratio peaked at 80% in 2000 and dropped as low as 73% in 2009. As of 2018, Berks County's employment-to-population ratio was similar to neighboring Lehigh and Lebanon (79% and 78% respectively), but lower than Montgomery (84%), Chester and Lancaster (both at 81%). Schuylkill was lower, at 75%.

Over the 19-year period, several of the neighboring counties averaged higher employment-to-population ratios than Berks (77%), including Chester and Lancaster (both 81%), Lebanon (82%), and Montgomery (83%). The average ratio was similar to Berks in Lehigh (78%) and Schuylkill (76%).

Notes about the data

For this indicator, people are counted where they live, not where they work. To calculate these rates, CGR used figures for the population from ages 16 to 64 not living in institutions (including jails, prisons, psychiatric hospitals, nursing homes and boarding schools) from the 2000 Census and American Community Survey. CGR interpolated the intervening years.

There may be additional research available on this topic. Click on Reports and Resources to learn more.

Employment-to-Population Ratio

	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
United States	64%	64%	63%	62%	62%	63%	63%	63%	62%	59%	58%	58%	59%	59%	59%	59%	60%	60%	60%
Pennsylvania	76%	77%	76%	75%	76%	76%	77%	77%	78%	74%	74%	74%	75%	75%	75%	76%	76%	77%	77%
Berks County	80%	79%	78%	75%	76%	76%	77%	77%	77%	73%	75%	75%	76%	76%	77%	78%	78%	78%	78%
Berks County Regions
Central
Northeast
South
Southeast
West
Reading city
Berks County Peers
Chester County	82%	82%	82%	81%	81%	81%	82%	82%	83%	78%	78%	78%	79%	79%	79%	80%	81%	81%	81%
Lancaster County	84%	84%	84%	82%	84%	84%	83%	83%	83%	78%	77%	77%	77%	78%	79%	80%	81%	80%	81%
Lebanon County	84%	85%	85%	84%	86%	86%	87%	86%	86%	82%	78%	78%	79%	79%	79%	78%	79%	78%	78%
Lehigh County	81%	81%	80%	79%	78%	79%	79%	79%	79%	75%	74%	74%	76%	76%	77%	78%	79%	79%	79%
Montgomery County	85%	85%	84%	83%	83%	83%	84%	84%	85%	79%	80%	80%	80%	80%	81%	82%	83%	83%	84%
Schuylkill County	75%	75%	75%	74%	76%	77%	78%	80%	80%	77%	73%	73%	74%	74%	75%	75%	75%	75%	75%

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau

Total Employment

	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
United States	136,891,000	136,933,000	136,485,000	137,736,000	139,252,000	141,730,000	144,427,000	146,047,000	145,362,000	139,877,000	139,064,000	139,869,000	142,469,000	143,929,000	146,305,000	148,834,000	151,436,000	153,337,000	155,761,000
Pennsylvania	5,854,551	5,881,688	5,868,607	5,821,711	5,876,997	5,940,570	6,006,634	6,064,063	6,109,645	5,885,351	5,840,887	5,888,745	5,957,314	5,967,811	6,017,923	6,075,917	6,103,007	6,110,554	6,148,635
Berks County	187,690	187,597	186,317	181,673	185,424	189,015	192,567	194,447	195,467	186,095	191,919	193,589	195,566	196,277	199,318	201,877	202,596	202,677	203,686
Berks County Regions
Central
Northeast
South
Southeast
West
Reading city
Berks County Peers
Chester County	229,523	233,753	235,797	237,295	241,076	246,961	254,609	258,865	263,491	251,383	252,699	254,461	257,629	259,105	262,363	266,326	269,460	270,916	272,641
Lancaster County	244,446	246,660	250,063	247,222	254,205	257,802	257,754	260,379	262,878	250,126	247,925	247,732	251,661	254,195	259,896	264,447	268,250	268,278	271,891
Lebanon County	62,355	63,542	64,115	64,023	66,124	67,598	68,764	69,628	70,324	67,885	64,826	65,004	66,177	66,344	66,624	66,844	67,413	67,820	68,545
Lehigh County	157,140	158,719	157,815	158,147	159,594	162,363	166,251	168,063	168,895	162,952	160,875	163,937	167,319	168,918	171,834	175,701	178,860	180,117	181,379
Montgomery County	397,383	402,667	402,460	401,387	401,982	406,172	411,623	415,122	419,127	396,105	400,493	402,423	407,910	410,096	416,063	422,255	428,861	430,898	433,965
Schuylkill County	66,106	65,567	65,188	64,554	65,212	66,437	67,700	69,906	69,866	66,625	63,197	63,221	64,079	63,787	64,064	63,854	63,388	62,398	62,670

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau

INDICATORS	TREND \| BERKS COUNTY
Early Prenatal Care	Increasing
Early Prenatal Care by Mother's Race/Ethnicity	Increasing
Children Living in Poverty	Increasing
Children Living in Poverty, by Race/Ethnicity	Maintaining
Single-Parent Families	Increasing
Single-Parent Families by Race/Ethnicity	Decreasing
Disengaged Youth	Maintaining
Live Births to Teen Mothers	Decreasing
Change in Population by Age and Gender	Maintaining
Change in Total Population by Race/Ethnicity	Increasing
Population by Age and Race/Ethnicity	Decreasing
Foreign-Born Population	Increasing
Language Diversity	Increasing
Unemployment Rate	Decreasing
Change in Labor Force	Increasing
Employment to Population ratio	Increasing
Change in Jobs by Sector	Not Applicable
Sector Share of Total Jobs	Not Applicable
Average Salary by Sector	Not Applicable
Change in Average Salary by Sector	Not Applicable
People Entering/Leaving County/Region for Work	Increasing
Public Assistance	Maintaining
Spending for Local Governments	Maintaining
Spending for Counties	Maintaining
Spending for School Districts	Maintaining
Quality Early Childhood Centers	Not Applicable
Prekindergarten Participation	Increasing
Students Eligible for Free/Reduced Price Lunch	Increasing
English Language Learners	Increasing
Students Receiving Special Education Services	Increasing
Per Student Spending	Maintaining
Historically Underperforming Student Performance on Grade 3 English	Decreasing
Historically Underperforming Student Performance on Grade 3 Math	Increasing
Historically Underperforming Student Performance on Grade 8 English	Increasing
Historically Underperforming Student Performance on Grade 8 Math	Decreasing
Student Performance on High School English	Decreasing
Student Performance on High School Math	Increasing
High School Cohort Graduation Rate	Increasing
Education Levels of Adults, by Race/Ethnicity	Maintaining
Brain Drain/Gain	Increasing
Plans of High School Graduates	Increasing
Median Household Income	Maintaining
Median Household Income by Household Type	Maintaining
Living Wage	Maintaining
People Living in Poverty	Increasing
Working Poor	Maintaining
People Receiving Federal Food Assistance	Increasing
People Enrolled in Medicaid Managed Care	Increasing
People Without Health Insurance	Decreasing
Physically Inactive Adults	Not Applicable
Adults Who are Overweight or Obese	Not Applicable
Students in 7-12 Overweight or Obese	Increasing
Vacant Housing Units	Increasing
Homeownership Rates	Decreasing
Housing Affordability for Homeowners	Maintaining
Housing Affordability for Homeowners by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Housing Affordability for Renters	Increasing
Housing Affordability for Renters, by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Age of Housing Stock	Decreasing
Single-Family Home Sales	Increasing
Median Single-Family Home Sale Price	Maintaining
Tourism Spending	Maintaining
Voter Registration Rate	Decreasing
Voter Participation Rate	Increasing
Average Charitable Giving	Maintaining
Contributions as a Percentage of Income	Maintaining
Households With Internet Access	Increasing
Dams	Not Applicable
Violent Crimes	Maintaining
Property Crimes	Decreasing
Incarceration Rates	Maintaining
Drug Abuse Offenses	Increasing
Drug Abuse Arrests	Increasing
Protection from Domestic Abuse	Maintaining
Means of Transportation to Work	Maintaining
Average Travel Time to Work	Increasing
Crashes Involving Alcohol	Decreasing
Households Without Vehicles	Decreasing

INDICATORS

TREND | BERKS COUNTY