What does this measure?

The number of employed people living in Berks County divided by the population of 16- to 64-year-olds.

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 61% in 2015-19, slightly higher than Pennsylvania at 59% and the nation at 60%. This was little changed since 2000, when 62% of working-age people were employed. Berks County's employment-to-population ratio was the same as neighboring Lehigh and Lebanon counties but lower than Montgomery, Chester and Lancaster. Schuylkill was lower than Berks, at 53%. The Central region of Berks County lagged behind the other regions with just 57% of working-age residents employed, reflecting the Reading figure of 54%.

Notes about the data

For this indicator, people are counted where they live, not where they work. The multiyear figures are from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. The bureau combined five years of responses to the survey to provide estimates for smaller geographic areas and increase the precision of its estimates. However, because the information came from a survey, the samples responding to the survey were not always large enough to produce reliable results, especially in small geographic areas. CGR has noted on data tables the estimates with relatively large margins of error. Estimates with three asterisks have the largest margins, plus or minus 50% or more of the estimate. Two asterisks mean plus or minus 35%-50%, and one asterisk means plus or minus 20%-35%. For all estimates, the confidence level is 90%, meaning there is 90% probability the true value (if the whole population were surveyed) would be within the margin of error (or confidence interval). The survey provides data on characteristics of the population that used to be collected only during the decennial census. Data for this indicator are released annually in December.

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