It’s last call for many young graduates in Pittsburgh. Most students flee the city after… It’s last call for many young graduates in Pittsburgh. Most students flee the city after graduation, pursuing jobs in other markets. Since 2000, Pittsburgh has lost 60,309 residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The only city worse off than Pittsburgh is New Orleans – and at least they have Hurricane Katrina to blame.

Those aren’t promising statistics for young adults interested in staying in Pittsburgh after graduation. And with the days ticking down until Pitt’s commencement, some students are re-thinking their post-graduation plans. But for those of us who want to stay in the city and try to start our professional lives here, there is little hope for our future.

After months of planning and on the heels of this sobering census report, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl announced the formation of The Propel Pittsburgh Commission yesterday. The commission, to be comprised of 35 young professionals between the ages of 20 and 34, will meet six times a year to discuss the plight of young professionals in the city.

Residents meeting the age criteria are encouraged to apply through the city’s Web site, according to an article in the Post-Gazette.

Commission members will be responsible with making certain “that the city of Pittsburgh remains competitive and attractive and retains young people,” Ravenstahl said in the article. “What better way to talk about those issues than having young people at the table, talking about issues that are important to us, and moving forward with aggressive agendas on the city government level?” he added.

The commission will touch on many facets of Pittsburgh life, including socio-political issues, the economic status of the city, diversity and cultural matters, according to Ravenstahl, who will chair the commission.

While nothing energizes young people quite like committee work, we are nonetheless glad to see our young mayor taking interest in keeping us in the city after we graduate. There isn’t going to be an easy fix, but it’s not impossible. Sure the weather isn’t exactly spectacular, but the city has a lot to offer young people in search of entertainment and recreation.

From our experiences, it costs two or three times as much for a night on the town in places like Washington, D.C., and New York City, but going out is still a relatively inexpensive event for the 21 and over crowd in Pittsburgh.

The low cost of living makes Pittsburgh affordable for young people as well.

What we don’t have a lot of, though, are job opportunities, and to utilize the reasonable cost of housing and entertainment, we have to make a little bit of money.

Often, graduates set on staying in Pittsburgh have to settle for jobs they wouldn’t otherwise have in other cities. The commission doesn’t necessarily need to focus on convincing young people to stay in Pittsburgh. We hope that the commission comes up with some incentives for employers to hire young professionals, or to lure companies to Pittsburgh that are willing to hire graduates and young people.

Part of keeping Pittsburgh attractive and competitive to young people is creating opportunities, but it’s also important for the city to play up its unique attributes.

We hope to see the progress of The Propel Pittsburgh Commission impact our lives over the next few years.

In the meantime, many of us will leave after our April 29 graduation, but for those of us who stay, we’re holding you to your promises, Mayor Ravenstahl.