Harrisburg, PA – Today, Secretary of Administration Neil Weaver announced that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was ranked among the top employers in the state for the second year since Governor Josh Shapiro took office in 2023.
The Commonwealth is the only government organization in Pennsylvania to be ranked among the 2025 Best-In-State Employers by Forbes and Statista based on a nationwide survey that included Commonwealth employees and the public.
“Working for the Commonwealth is for people who want a rewarding career where they can make a real difference in people’s lives through public service,” said Secretary Weaver. “Our employees work hard to provide Pennsylvanians with the services and programs they need to thrive, and we’re proud to support our employees with the benefits, growth opportunities, and supportive workplaces they need to get stuff done for Pennsylvania.”
The Shapiro Administration is making the state government workforce stronger and more competitive so state agencies continue to have highly qualified and dedicated professionals to address the evolving needs of Pennsylvanians. This began on Governor Shapiro’s first day with an executive order to allow qualified applicants without college degrees to compete for state jobs and has continued with initiatives focused on recruitment, hiring, retention, and development, including:
- Reducing hiring time by 40 percent from 90 days to 54 days to be more competitive in the job market and quickly fill critical vacancies.
- Reducing the overall vacancy rate for Commonwealth employees by 3 percent from its peak of 10 percent during the pandemic.
- Enhancing benefits to support employees and their families, including medical, mental health and wellbeing support, and paid family leave.
- Reducing the cost of higher education for employees and their family members with tuition discounts and scholarships available from a growing list of institutions.
- Creating new internships, apprenticeships, and fellowships to offer work-based learning opportunities and experience in public service.
- Creating the Governor’s Hire, Improve, Recruit, Empower (HIRE) Committee to strengthen the Commonwealth’s workforce to deliver better services to all Pennsylvanians. For example, by piloting financial incentives for bilingual employees, enhancing services for Pennsylvanians with limited English proficiency, and improving accessibility of Commonwealth buildings.
OA recently highlighted the success of the Shapiro Administration’s workforce development efforts reflected in new workforce data showing that Millennial and Gen Z employees now make up nearly 40 percent of the Commonwealth workforce. The number of Gen Z employees has nearly tripled since the beginning of the Shapiro Administration and the number of Millennial employees grew by 17 percent.
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was ranked as a top employer by Forbes and Statista in 2023, and in another survey that same year, as a top employer in the nation by recent college graduates. This summer, the Commonwealth was named one of the Greatest Places to Intern in PA by the PA Chamber Foundation for creating dynamic, engaging, and educational experiences.
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is always hiring! Job seekers can go to employment.pa.gov to browse hundreds of vacancies, apply for openings, and be notified when new jobs are available. Pennsylvanians can also explore internships, fellowships, and apprenticeships through the Commonwealth at the Launch Your Career page.
About the 2025 Best Employers by State Rankings
Forbes and Statista selected America’s Best-In-State Employers 2025 through an independent survey from a vast sample of over 160,000 U.S. employees working for companies employing at least 500 people within the United States. Over 2 million employer evaluations were considered. The final score is based on two types of employee evaluations: personal (those given by employees themselves) and public (those given by friends and family members of employees, or members of the public who work in the same industry).
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