PNC Financial Services Group met at Erie’s Bayfront Thursday afternoon to discuss the current economic landscape of Erie and northwest Pennsylvania as a whole.

The briefing at the Bayfront Convention Center focused on inflation, interest rates, employment and stock market. An economic expert with PNC said he expects 2023 to end out on a high note, but said inflation is still a big problem that could set us back next year.

“Jobs are up, the unemployment rate is down, but not quite to national levels. What we think will happen is a good end of the year but we’re a little bit worried about 2024. It is a big election year, things don’t usually go too bad in an election year, but we think we might have what we call a mild recession,” said Stuart Hoffman, senior economic advisor for PNC.

Hoffman added that Erie has lagged behind the national trend in terms of job growth, but it’s something that rings true for other areas nearby.