ECONOMIC STRESS TO CONTINUE FOR RESIDENTS AND STATE GOVERNMENT

A new mid-fiscal-year report on the Pennsylvania commonwealth’s financial health says residents and lawmakers both should be alarmed about certain factors. The forecast from the top administrator for the state’s Independent Fiscal Office says lower-income consumers are not in a very good position at this point. Wages are expected to decrease over three and a half percent as money from the federal government’s stimulus funds, as well as emergency SNAP benefits, will soon come to an end. He also says, though, that the state is experiencing its lowest unemployment rate on record; it was at four-point-oh percent for the fourth quarter of last year.