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Economist: For Every One High Tech Job, Five Other Jobs Created

By John Ostapkovich

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – High tech or big wreck? That's the stark choice for our region's economy and others as put forth by an economist's years of study.

There are not two Americas, as some political discourse goes, but three, according to Cal-Berkeley Professor of Economics Enrico Morelli.

"On one hand, you have cities like San Francisco or Raleigh with a strong innovation-based economy. At the other extreme, you see old manufacturing capitals like Cleveland, Flint or Detroit. In the middle, there is the rest of the country, including Philly, which seems to be undecided on which direction to take."

Morelli, author of The New Geography of Jobs, says college graduates are very mobile and flock to employment hot-spots. His research shows that for every one high-tech job, there are five other jobs--from baristas to plumbers—created, so there's plenty of work for those who don't go to college, too.

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