Philly’s ‘missing middle’ wage jobs make career matchmaking harder, residents say

There’s one key workforce development metric many are tracking in Philadelphia — the growth of living-wage jobs.

But even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Philadelphia lagged behind peer cities for those “middle-wage” jobs — paying between $18 and $27 an hour.

In 2019, the density of middle-wage jobs in Philadelphia was 758 out of 1,000 working-age residents. That’s lower than New York City, Baltimore, Nashville, San Francisco and Washington D.C., according to the U.S. Census data crunched by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

The topic of “Building Tomorrow’s Workforce” was discussed during a WHYY Bridging Blocks event held at Thomas F. Donatucci, Sr. Library in South Philly. The event was co-hosted by Eric Marsh Sr., manager of community and engagement for WHYY News and education reporter Amanda Fitzpatrick Abdur-Razzaaq.

About a half-dozen community members gathered to debate whether a college degree and its debt is worth it for the next generation workforce, or if a vocational trade or apprenticeship is a better bet. But support networks for individuals seeking living-wage jobs were discussed at length and how much isn’t initially shared with younger job seekers — like the hardships of paying for college or upfront costs to trade school, which includes costly tools.

Overall, there’s a renewed sense of optimism among leaders in Philadelphia, said Le’Yondo Dunn, CEO of YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School.

“I think the city is in a moment right now where everyone who is in a seat to impact change is thinking about how we can collectively work together,” Dunn said, adding that success would be a team effort. “The work related to workforce development programming is complex.”