This city represents America right now, Fed president says
Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker on the state of the local economy.
The City of Brotherly Love is a “microcosm” of what is happening across the country, according to Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker.
“If you ask employers, one of their biggest needs is workers -- they need workers -- skilled and unskilled workers,” he told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo on Friday. “And the good news, right now, is that we're bringing more people off the sidelines. But that's not always an easy thing to do. Sometimes people aren't living in the right place or they don't have a car to get to work.”
However, the Federal Reserve Bank’s Economic Growth & Mobility Project, is working to solve these issues, he said.
“Through our community development activity, we are working with communities to solve their problems, help them solve their problems and then package that up as a tool kit that other communities around the country can use,” he said.
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Also, Harker said Philadelphia is grappling with economic problems of its own.
“Philadelphia is on the rise,” Harker said. “There's a lot of good things happening but we still have challenges. There’s … still deep areas of poverty. We need to help those people get into the game, get into the workplace.”
Philadelphia is Pennsylvania’s largest city with a population of 1.58 million, according to recent Census data. While the number of residents living in poverty in Philadelphia decreased to 24.5 percent in 2018, the median household income increased to $46,116.
Beautiful Philadelphia skyline at night in USA
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE ENTIRE INTERVIEW WITH PATRICK HARKER
And it’s not only Philadelphia experiencing hardships. California is also facing a homeless crisis.
The homeless crisis is growing in Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento and San Francisco, despite the state pouring billions of dollars into cleanup efforts. Homelessness in Los Angeles County has spiked by 12 percent over the past year, and the area has the nation’s largest outdoor homeless population.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 23: A man stands in front of a homeless encampment, with the Hollywood sign in the background, on September 23, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. A new plan under consideration in the city would bar people experienc … (Getty)
However, when Bartiromo asked Harker “have our cities began to take a step down?” he said: “I think you have to look city by city. It's not a one size fits all.”