This article was originally featured in the September 15, 2022 issue of “Quarterly Connections,” a quarterly newsletter LVEDC is distributing to municipal officials in the Lehigh Valley.

Every Tuesday, the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) releases an e-newsletter that includes crucial news and information about the Lehigh Valley business community, economic development, and significant events taking place in the region. The following snapshots are highlights from recent issues of the e-newsletter:

Lehigh Valley Employment, Fully Recovered, June Jobs Report shows

In June of this year, employment in the Lehigh Valley metro region reached an all-time high of 384,900 indicating a full recovery of the jobs lost two years ago when the pandemic disrupted the economy federal data shows. For a full breakdown of these numbers across industry sectors and for a comparison of Lehigh Valley data against state and federal data, click here.

Lehigh Valley Manufacturing Growth Outpaces the Nation’s

Over the last five years, the Lehigh Valley manufacturing sector grew at a rate 11 times faster than the nation as a whole in the last five years primarily because the popular products made here helped drive the economic recovery during the pandemic, according to a new Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) analysis. At 35,000 jobs, manufacturing employment in the Lehigh Valley now exceeds what it was before the pandemic and its economic output, at $7.9 billion, ranks among the nation’s 50 largest manufacturing markets. To read more about the Lehigh Valley manufacturing sector, click here.

Lehigh Valley Companies Among Top 5,000 Fastest Growing Companies List

Several Lehigh Valley companies were recently added to Inc. Magazines prestigious list of Top 5,000 Fastest Growing Companies. For details on which companies made the cut, click here.

Evonik Opens New Innovation Hub in Lehigh Valley, Creating 50 Jobs

In Upper Macungie Township the Evonik Corporation announced an expansion that will create 50 new jobs and retain 277 existing positions. The Germany-based Evonik is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. Read more here.

You can sign up for the weekly LVEDC e-newsletter here.