Study: Penn has $14.3B economic impact
The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia's largest private employer, spent $900 million on construction projects in the five years ended June 30.
The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia's largest private employer, spent $900 million on construction projects in the five years ended June 30.
An additional $248 million in construction is underway.
Employment at the university, which includes the massive University of Pennsylvania Health System, climbed to 37,000 from 31,000 five years ago.
Compensation, including salaries, wages, and benefits, totaled $3.89 billion in fiscal 2015, up from $2.98 billion in 2010.
Those and other aspects of the tax-exempt organization's operations add up to an annual economic impact of $14.3 billion in Pennsylvania, according to a report released Wednesday.
Executive vice president Craig Carnaroli said that is the equivalent of Philadelphia's entire hospitality industry, or of Philadelphia International Airport.
"It puts the scale of our activity in context," said Carnaroli, adding that the purpose of the report was to "measure the economic ripple that we have as a large, stable employer in both the region and state."
Penn also commissioned economic impact reports in 2005 and 2010, but the reports are not comparable because Econsult Solutions Inc., of Philadelphia, changed its methodology between 2010 and 2015.
Lee Huang, a senior vice president and principal at Econsult who prepared the two most recent reports, also said the firm took a more conservative approach to its estimates.
In concrete terms, Penn saw healthy growth by numerous measures between 2010 and 2015.
Other examples: Spending with West Philadelphia vendors rose to $120 million from $100 million, and its licensing revenue climbed to $86.1 million from $46 million.
215-854-4651
@InqBrubaker