Commonwealth of Pa. ranked by Forbes as one of top employers in state

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has been ranked by Forbes as one of the top employers in the state.

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 on the 2025 Best-In-State Employers list by Forbes and Statista. This list is 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,” Weaver said in a statement. “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 PA Chamber Foundation this summer named the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania one of the Greatest Places to Intern in PA.

According to a release, the Shapiro Administration‘s workforce initiatives are focused on recruitment, hiring, retention, and development and include the following:

• Reducing hiring time by 40% 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% from its peak of 10 percent during the pandemic.
• Enhancing benefits to support employees and their families, including medica, 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.

New workforce data shows that millennial and Gen Z employees make up almost 40% of Pennsylvania’s workforce. Per the release, 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%.

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 U.S. More than 2 million employer evaluations were considered, and the final score was 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).