A loss of 500 jobs at Werner Co. is going to have a far-reaching economic effect.

If the average wage of a Werner employee is $20 an hour, not including overtime, benefits or other employment costs, 500 lost jobs means $20.8 million annually is going to be vaporized from the local economy.

It gets worse.

Wheatland Tube Co. recently announced it's closing a mechanical tube plant in Wheatland in May, resulting in 115 lost jobs there. If the average wage there also is $20 an hour, the total wage loss for the local economy jumps to more than $25 million.

It gets even worse.

Even the most blatantly conservative estimate given by economists is that every manufacturing job creates one job elsewhere. If that theory works in reverse and for every lost manufacturing job another job is lost, the local economy is apt to lose more than $50 million.

It gets even worse.

Penn-Northwest Development Corp., Mercer County's lead economic development agency, said nearly 1,400 local jobs have been lost in the last three years. Factory closings include the final days of Trinity Industries in Greenville, Damascus-Bishop Tube in Reynolds and Cooper-Bessemer Reciprocating in Grove City.

Adding those to the upcoming furloughs pushes the direct wage losses to more than $58 million and the total direct and indirect cost to more than $116 million.

"We're seeing a lot of shifts and changes in the manufacturing sector,'' said Larry Reichard, executive director of Penn-Northwest. "We're seeing imports taking a toll here.''

The local agency tried to save the Werner jobs, but the task proved to be overwhelming.

Penn-Northwest called the Governor's Action Team when it learned Werner was thinking of moving the 500 local jobs. Officials from the company and Penn-Northwest and a representative of the team met and Penn-Northwest held a separate meeting with union officials.

"Obviously, with Werner's announcement, the effort wasn't successful,'' Reichard said Thursday.

Another meeting with the Governor's Action Team had been scheduled for next week to see if anything could be done for the company. "Now, unfortunately, the meeting will be more of a report to them more than anything else.'' Reichard said.

A spokesman for Gov. Ed Rendell's office wasn't available Thursday afternoon.

Since the issue at Werner involved labor costs and foreign competition, there was little the state could do, Reichard said.

"Under the current circumstances, with the current state programs available, there frankly isn't a whole lot available to shift this decision,'' he said. "That's the reality of the programs that are out there."

Late last year, the state packaged a $27 million deal to entice Cabela to build a 200,000-square-foot retail store and office complex in Berks County. Cabela had been eyeing a site in Mercer County.

Pennsylvania was in competition with other states to entice the sports supply retailer.

When asked why a similar deal couldn't have been created to save the Werner jobs, Reichard bristled.

"I don't even want to go there,'' he said. "That's a good question, but I don't want to respond to that.''

As for the county's economic future, Reichard said a countywide conference may be held to figure a course of action.

It's doubtful state aid would have made a difference in saving the Werner jobs, said Eric Werner, vice president and general counsel for the company.

Still, the state should look at improving the overall business and manufacturing climate in the state, such as reducing health and workers' compensation costs, he noted.

Living in the same township that's home to Werner Co., state Rep. Rod Wilt said he's been barking about improving the state's business climate for years.

"This isn't a Mercer County issue or a Greenville issue, this is a Pennsylvania issue,'' said the 17th District Republican. "The bottom line is a company looks at where they can get the most bang for the buck, and it's very difficult to do that in Pennsylvania.''