EVANSTON, Ill., Aug. 13, 2012 — (PRNewswire) — Following several years of losses, industrial employment in Pennsylvania increased by a half percent over the past twelve months according to the Pennsylvania Manufacturers Register^®, an industrial directory published annually by Manufacturers' News, Inc. (MNI) Evanston, IL. MNI reports Pennsylvania gained 3,776 industrial jobs between June 2011 and June 2012.

Manufacturers' News reports Pennsylvania is now home to 17,363 manufacturers employing 807,726 workers.

"Pennsylvania continues to see its manufacturing sector improve," says Tom Dubin, President of the Evanston, IL-based publishing company, which has been surveying industry since 1912. "The state's educated workforce, access to capital, and investments in innovative technologies have been a draw for a variety of enterprises."

Bright spots for the state included Ocean Spray's announcement that it will open a new juice bottling facility in Allentown; the recent establishment of Pratt Industries' corrugated box plant in Macungie; the expansion of Alcoa's operations at its plant in Upper Burrell Township; and the opening of Glasswerks Inc.'s new glass plant in Easton. Pharmaceutical maker Daiichi Sankyo recently established a packaging plant in Bethlehem; Rehrig Pacific Logistics plans to open a fiberboard plant in Glendon Borough; GE Transportation announced the opening of a new diesel engine remanufacturing plant in Grove City; and PrintHarmony.com opened a printing plant in Easton.

MNI reports industrial machinery and equipment remains Pennsylvania's largest industrial sector by employment, accounting for 93,473 manufacturing jobs, up 1% over the past year. Food products manufacturing ranks second with 86,691 jobs, up 2% over the past twelve months. Third-ranked fabricated metals accounts for 84,393 jobs, with no significant change reported.

Industrial sectors that gained jobs over the year included chemicals, up 3.6%; petroleum products, up 1.9%; transportation equipment, up 1.8%; rubber/plastics, up 1.7%; and primary metals up 1.4%. Losses were seen in printing/publishing, down 4.3%; lumber/wood, down 3%; paper products, down 1.7%; and textiles/apparel, down 1.1%.

Industrial locations announcing closures included Baldwin Hardware in Reading; RR Donnelley's book printing facility in Bloomsburg; and Aquatic Co.'s bath fixtures plant in Elizabethtown.

Manufacturers' News reports Southeast Pennsylvania accounts for the largest share of the state's industrial employment, with 341,996 jobs, up a third of a percent over the year. Southwest Pennsylvania accounts for 184,419 jobs, up 1.7%, while Central Pennsylvania is home to 118,639 industrial workers, down a half percent. Northwest Pennsylvania accounts for 106,368 of the state's industrial jobs, up a half percent, while Northeast Pennsylvania is home to 56,304 jobs, down a half percent over the past twelve months.

MNI's city data shows Philadelphia remains the state's top city for manufacturing employment, home to 44,453 jobs, down 1.5% over the year. Second-ranked Pittsburgh accounts for 36,812 jobs, up 7.5% over the year. York is home to 22,339 industrial jobs, with no significant change reported, while Lancaster accounts for 17,544 jobs, down 3.7%. Allentown is home to 17,355 industrial jobs, down 1.1%.

Detailed profiles of Pennsylvania's 17,363 manufacturers and 2,545 distributors can be found in the 2013 Pennsylvania Manufacturers Register^®, available in print for $211, or available online through MNI's subscription-based service at www.ezselect.com. Users may generate custom profiles of manufacturers using a variety of criteria, including area or zip code, county, SIC, sales volume, number of employees, and more. Each profile provides up to 30 facts, including vital contact information (phone, web, e-mail), 60,615 executives by name and title, product(s) manufactured, annual sales, and number of employees. MNI also maintains IndustryNet.com, an industrial search engine designed specifically for locating manufacturers and suppliers nationwide, and has recently launched an expansion and relocation guide for manufacturers.

Manufacturers' News, Inc. is the nation's oldest and largest publisher of state manufacturers directories.  For 100 years the company has identified, researched and profiled manufacturing establishments. MNI employs an 85-person editorial staff to scour state business registrations, trade journals, financial reports, and many other sources to pinpoint every manufacturing establishment in the U.S. Each manufacturer is contacted throughout the year to update their profiles, including their employee counts. For more information, contact Manufacturers' News, Inc., 1633 Central St., Evanston, IL, 60201, 847-864-7000, FAX 847-332-1100. www.manufacturersnews.com. Information is also available on Facebook and Twitter.     

SOURCE Manufacturers' News, Inc.