Billions From Beer: Breweries Driving Pa. Economy, Report Says

By Justin Heinze:

Beer is a main reason that Pennsylvania’s economy is at where it is today.

That’s according to the Beer Serves America report released Tuesday at a congressional hearing by the Beer Institute and National Beer Wholesalers Association.

The study showed the beer industry had a $9.2 billion economic impact on Pennsylvania’s economy in 2014, provided more than 70,000 direct jobs paying $3 billion, and generated more than $1 billion in federal, state and local tax revenue.

The jobs are across several sectors, including agriculture, mining, construction, real estate, manufacturing, retail, transportation, travel and entertainment, and wholesale.

In Pennsylvania, the top beer-related jobs are in business and personal services (over 10,000 jobs), and finance and manufacturing, which each have created over 3,000 jobs, respectively.

Wages paid to workers in those three sectors of the industry topped $1 billion a year.

There are 189 brewing facilities and 558 beer wholesalers in the state, according to the report.

Local, state and federal taxes paid by beer-related industries totaled over $571 million, $174 million of it going into state and local government treasuries.

The report even went on to opine that beer was good for the local community in ways that went beyond the economy:

Beer companies protect and preserve the environment through a wide number of sustainability programs. Many beer distributors use alternative fuels in their delivery trucks and renewable energy in their warehouses. Brewers and suppliers promote aluminum and glass recycling, and are taking dramatic steps forward in reducing demand for water and energy.

Pennsylvania ranked fourth in the U.S. for total beer-related jobs, and fourth for total economic output. California ranked first in both of those categories. Texas and New York were the only other two states ahead of the Keystone State.

Nationally, the beer industry represented 1.5 percent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product in 2014, and had a $253 billion economic impact. More than 1.75 million Americans are employed directly or indirectly by the beer industry.

Also nationally, local state and federal taxes amounted to more than $48.5 billion in 2014, including taxes on sales, gross receipts and revenue collected from state and federal excise taxes on beer.

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