Marcellus shale and the commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Much of the enthusiasm about Marcellus Shale has been its promise of economic benefits. State and federal data suggests that Marcellus Shale is having generally positive but modest effects on employment, wages, and local business activity. Wages and income generally have increased more than the number of workers, suggesting that much of the impact has been more work hours, higher pay, or a combination of both, rather than significant new job creation. Employment is up, particularly in sectors directly related to drilling activity, yet the number of residents reporting wages and salaries has not changed as much, indicating that many of the new jobs are going to nonresidents. Counties with Marcellus Shale activity typically did a little better in retaining or adding local businesses than did the rest of the state. Many of these economic numbers appear more modest than would be expected, given the billions of dollars being spent to develop the Marcellus Shale.