WEST CHESTER, PA-An economist with locally-based Moody's Analytics says the Pennsylvania and New Jersey economies and others in the Northeast will see improvement in 2014, but all will lag behind most other markets across the country.

Steven G. Cochrane, managing director of Moody's Analytics, says, "The whole Northeast region, from Washington on up, is the slowest region in the country.” A total of 15 states have regained all the jobs lost in the recession, but Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware are not among them, according to The Inquirer.

Pennsylvania ranked 41st in Moody's list among states in terms of 2014 job growth estimates and is expected to add 75,684 jobs for a growth rate of 1.31%. Moody's forecast 53,084 jobs in New Jersey this year, for a ranking of 37th.

Although Pennsylvania, mining employment has nearly doubled in a decade from 18,000 in 2003 to 35,600 in November 2013, the growth in the mining sector has not fueled a recovery in the jobs market in Pennsylvania.

Hospitals and schools have been strong employers, consistently adding jobs through the recession, he notes. However, in the last few months that sector has shed jobs, due in part to federal government cutbacks in research funding. See story in The Inquirer.