EMPLOYMENT Jobs increase 30% since '02 in Grove City area

GROVE CITY, Pa. -- The Grove City area experienced 30 percent job growth over the last two years in manufacturing, health care and education.
The Grove City Area Chamber of Commerce conducted its first Commerce Employment Outlook survey this year and found that 1,100 full-time jobs were created in those three employment sectors since 2002.
The top 27 employers in those areas employed 3,737 people in 2002, 4,280 in 2003 and 4,841 this year.
The manufacturing sector had the most growth, a whopping 47 percent, the survey shows. Health-care jobs grew by nearly 15 percent while education was up more than 10 percent.
The jobs created are higher paying, skilled positions and don't include any retail or service employers, said John Inman, president of Eastern Mercer County Regional Development Corp. and vice president of Grove City Borough Council.
That means the job growth numbers don't include any figures from the rapid growth in neighboring Springfield Township where Prime Outlets has helped generate hundreds of new service industry jobs over the past several years.