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Technology & Innovation
STEM Occupations
STEM Occupations
Data for three STEM occupation categories were analyzed. In 2020, employment in architecture and engineering occupations shrank in both counties, continuing a trend from the prior year. Luzerne County saw a larger drop at 5.2 percent compared to 3.8 percent for Lackawanna County. This occupation category employs just over 3,000 workers across both areas.
Life, physical, and social science employment has been generally stable in the region since 2013, though Lackawanna County has seen a declining trend that accelerated from 2016 to 2019. In 2020, however, both counties saw employment growth in these jobs, with Lackawanna County employment growing by 7.7 percent and Luzerne County gaining 9.4 percent.
Computer and mathematical occupations have varied from year to year. Both Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties experienced declines in 2018, but followed up with increases of 17.7 and 16.2 percent, respectively, in 2019. This was followed by declines of 1.1 and 0.5 percent, respectively. The total number of regional workers in these occupations has ranged from just under 4,200 to over 5,100 over the period analyzed, and most recently stood at 4,866.
Wages in all three of these STEM occupation groups were higher than wages in the region as a whole. In the two counties, architecture and engineering jobs have a median wage of $72,000 per year, and science occupations have median wage of $60,300 per year. Computer and mathematical occupations have a median wage of $71,000 per year. The regional median wage for all jobs is $36,200 per year. The wage gap between STEM and non-STEM workers is apparent across different experience levels for workers.
STEM-Based Industries
The table below shows the industries with the largest numbers of employees in the three STEM occupation categories discussed previously. Over 58 percent of the region’s STEM jobs fall into one of the 15 industries listed here.
Architectural, engineering, and related services had the highest number of STEM jobs as well as the highest percentage of its workforce (62 percent) in STEM occupations. The computer systems design and related services industry reported 614 of its workforce in STEM occupations – 59 percent of that industry’s total workforce. Data processing, hosting, and related services constitute the third largest STEM-employing industry in the region (584 STEM jobs; 41 percent of the industry workforce). Insurance carriers, management of companies, colleges and universities, hospitals, and various other industries also host large numbers of STEM workers. Several heavy industries, such as electricity generation, transmission, and distribution, medical equipment manufacturing, and plastics manufacturing are also represented.
Architecture & Engineering Occupations
Source: JobsEQ (Chmura Economics)
Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations
Source: JobsEQ (Chmura Economics)
Computer and Mathematical Occupations
Source: JobsEQ (Chmura Economics)
SBIR/STTR Awards
The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program awards grants to small businesses throughout the nation in order to promote federal innovation research and development. In 2019, firms in Pennsylvania received over $106 million in SBIR awards. This represents a decrease from the prior year’s revised total, but still the second highest total of all years analyzed. The total number of awards grew to the highest level among all years analyzed – 223 awardees statewide.
The Small Business Technology Transfer program (STTR) is similar to the SBIR program, with an emphasis on joint venture opportunities between small businesses and nonprofit research institutions. Pennsylvania’s 2019 award total was over $15.7 million – slightly lower than in 2018 but higher any year prior to 2016. The total number of STTR grants grew fell slightly from 38 to 36.
Pennsylvania SBIR Award Amounts
Prior year data has been updated
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration
Pennsylvania SBIR Awards
Prior year data has been updated
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration
Pennsylvania STTR Award Amounts
Prior year data has been updated
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration
Pennsylvania STTR Awards
Prior year data has been updated
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration
Active Clinical Trial Sites
The number of active clinical trials shown here is a point-in-time snapshot of trials in the recruiting phase. These totals identified in the last two years are considerably higher than those appearing in previous Indicators reports. The statistics currently available may represent all active trial sites, which involves some duplication of trials underway at multiple hospitals within a health system, for example.
The number of ongoing trials in the region relate to critical areas of health research, and the total number of clinical trials counted in this manner was 170 between the two counties, lower than in early 2020.
Active Clinical Trial Sites
Source: Centerwatch
| 2018 | Q1 2020 | Q2 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lackawanna | 65 | 58 | 51 |
| Luzerne | 88 | 149 | 119 |
Regional Venture Capital Investments Reported to The Institute
It is difficult to capture venture capital investment data from a single source, and this problem is compounded by the lack of non-proprietary data available. Due to these challenges, venture capital measured here likely underestimates actual investments. This list includes multi-stage venture capital investments and angel fund investments made by public and private sources over the past ten years, and which have been made public or provided to The Institute.
In 2019, over $15.2 million was invested directly by organizations reporting data to The Institute – including Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania in addition to private sources. In 2020, over $1 million in investments were identified, higher than most years analyzed. Known recipients include manufacturers and technology companies in both counties.
Regional Venture Capital Investments Reported to The Institute
Source: Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania, Private Funders. Previous figures have been revised.
| Year | Amount (Thousands) |
|---|---|
| 2011 | $540 |
| 2012 | $8,200 |
| 2013 | $600 |
| 2014 | $700 |
| 2015 | $600 |
| 2016 | $725 |
| 2017 | $700 |
| 2018 | $800 |
| 2019 | $15,200 |
| 2020 | $1,077 |
Statewide Patents Issued
Patents are filed by their inventors and classified according to the inventors’ residential addresses. Patents may be individually owned or owned by organizations inside or outside the region. Since 2015, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office no longer regularly tabulates patent data at a county or regional level. In 2015, 40 patents were issued to inventors in the two counties. Both counties saw a decrease of one from the prior year. In total, 487 patents have been issued over the ten years analyzed.
Statewide, there have been an average of just over 4,000 utility patents per year, and about 4,500 total patents per year. In 2019, there were above average patents issued to Pennsylvania inventors, though the statewide share as a percent of the nationwide total fell to 2.5 percent.
Statewide Patents Issued
Source: USPTO
Research Analyst in 2022.
Andrew Chew joined The Institute team in 2013 as Research & Policy Analyst. In 2016, Chew was named Senior Research & Policy Analyst.
Sarah, a former Institute intern, joined The Institute in April 2021
Dr. Jolene Carey-Pace was appointed as a Research Analyst at The Institute in 2021. As a research analyst, Jolene carries out research/development activities, analyzes data, and interprets results. Jolene also contributes to the design and delivery of research projects and collaborates with researchers to develop, execute, and interpret research projects and perform complex data collection and study methods. Jolene is experienced in quantitative and qualitative research, specializing in implementing, conducting, and analyzing interviews and focus groups.
Jill Avery-Stoss joined The Institute in June 2018 to fill the newly-created role of Research, Data, Intern & Administrative Coordinator. She assists with the collection and management of data for purposes of ethical and efficient analysis. She visits partner campuses to market The Institute’s internship opportunities, and participates in event-planning logistical activities as well.In 2021, Jill was promoted to Administrative Coordinator to reflect the diversity in her job description and the additional marketing and communication functions she successfully mastered in 2020.
Ooms is responsible for all facets of research, organizational strategy, and management. Ooms is an active principal investigator in all Institute research. Ooms has been nationally recognized as a leader in regional economic development. She turned that skill into a research institute to help other regions develop and prosper. Her strategic skills have allowed The Institute to expand its services to the private and non-profit sectors for research and analysis in community health needs assessments, strategic planning, market and feasibility studies, and economic impact analysis.