Pennsylvania Employers Make Forbes’ ‘America’s Best’ List

PENNSYLVANIA — One hundred companies doing business in Pennsylvania made Forbes’ new list of “America’s Best Employers By State.”

The global COVID-19 pandemic caused big shifts in the workplace, Forbes noted with the release of the list on Aug. 24 more employees are working remotely, and their priorities have changed.

As a result, Forbes said in a news story revealing the rankings, “employers have had to motivate talent, combat burnout and ensure the well-being and safety of their workers, while pursuing profits amid a sensitive political landscape that spurred new levels of corporate activism — not to mention a growing divide in what people want from institutions and companies.”

Forbes partnered with the market research firm Statista to compile the list, based on an anonymous survey of 70,000 Americans working for businesses that employ at least 500 people.

The final list ranks 1,382 employers receiving the most recommendations. Read more about the methodology here.

In Pennsylvania, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia with 15,248 employees, topped the list. Rounding out the top five were Wegmans Food Markets, with 52,000 employees; Microsoft with 103,000 employees; Cosco Wholesale with 192,000 employees; and Amtrak with 17,100 employees;

Other companies in the top 10 are: Penn Medicine with 44,254 employees; Carnegie Mellon with 6,072 employees, Penn Entertainment with 18,321 employees, Lockheed Martin with 106,020 employees and Best Buy with 102,000 employees.

In addition, Philadelphia metropolitan area companies that made the top 20 include Vanguard, based in Malvern, with 18,800 employees; University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, with 18,000 employees; AmeriHealth Caritas, Philadelphia, with 7,300 employees; SAP, Newtown Square, with 107,410 employees, UGI, King of Prussia, with 1,500 employees; and Teleflex, Wayne, with 4,000 employees.

Forbes also ranks the best employers nationally, but said its state rankings are intended to show how companies are perceived in different parts of the country.

Of the 1,382 employers ranked, 246 were ranked in more than one state.

Microsoft, which was named a top employer in 21 states, including third in Pennsylvania, treats diversity as a mission-critical priority to address the talent shortage in tech and tap new markets.

One example is how the company has prioritized hiring people with disabilities.

“We have found tremendous talent through this approach,” said Neil Barnett, director of inclusive hiring and accessibility at Microsoft.

“In addition to focusing on the technology and processes needed to accommodate disabilities, Microsoft trains all employees in how to support disabled colleagues.”

The employers making the list universally value fair pay, safe working conditions and an inclusive work culture, Forbes said.

This year, the survey questions addressed remote work benefits, the wage gap for women, and initiatives around diversity, equity and inclusion — themes that emerged as a result of the pandemic and growing political polarization, according to the Forbes.