3 Aug 2016 6:54 pm
So yesterday the Mangled Orange Hellbeast said that the capital city of my state looked like a 'war zone' as he flew over it in his private jet.
And the city of Harrisburg is not too happy about that.
And the city of Harrisburg is not too happy about that.
Talking out of his ***, as usual.Was Trump right about the Harrisburg 'war zone'? Look at the data.
It's still unclear what exactly Donald Trump saw that inspired him to describe Harrisburg as a "war zone."
But what the Republican presidential nominee couldn't see from his private jet is the region's strong economic history through recessions and other downturns.
While the Harrisburg area has certainly lost manufacturing jobs as Trump implied, the losses weren't enough to push the capital city out of its standing as the Pennsylvania metropolitan area with the second-lowest unemployment rate.
The Dauphin County unemployment rate has remained lower than the state average since the recession hit. For example, the county average was 5.0 percent in June, while the Pennsylvania average was 5.6 percent.
A 5 percent unemployment rate is the rate at which most economists say someone who wants a job can find one.
The average in Cumberland County, where Trump spoke Monday night, was 4.1 percent in June.
During that campaign stop at Cumberland Valley High School in Mechanicsburg, Trump told an adoring crowd he would bring back their jobs.
Some 15 hours later at a campaign stop in Ashburn, Virginia, Trump said Harrisburg "looked like a war zone" because of factory closings.
"It was unfortunate to characterize this region that way from 20,000 feet off the ground," said Patti Bucek, vice president of the Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC.
"Without even looking at the stats or progress we've made, that comment was ill-conceived."
If Trump analyzed the job statistics in the area, he'd know there are more jobs in the region than people to fill them, she said.
The highest number of job openings is in logistics, manufacturing, health care and technology.
"Trump made a difficult claim," said Mark Price, a labor economist at the Keystone Research Center. "I wouldn't describe the region's economy as a 'war zone.' It's a growing economy."
He also pointed to the region's recovery.
"Harrisburg weathered the recession better and recovered faster," Price said.
