LVEDC Director of Talent Supply Karianne Gelinas

Each week, Karianne Gelinas, Director of Talent Supply with the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC), will provide an update and additional information about its ongoing initiative to identify talent supply and demand issues in the region and create a strategy that results in a broader, ongoing understanding of the Lehigh Valley workforce. (See past updates.)

Among the many research observations from the ongoing Lehigh Valley talent supply initiative is the fact that the region has an aging workforce, and with it a large expected cohort of retirees.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 14 percent (or more than 90,000 people) in the Lehigh Valley labor force are between the ages of 55 and 64, meaning they are classified as “outgoing labor.”

If current patterns prevail, the future Lehigh Valley labor force in the next ten years will be short of approximately 10,000 workers. This validates the importance of having a regional plan in place, and a collaborative effort around establishing and carrying out that plan.

Below is a breakdown of the labor force age groups over the next 10 years, according to the Census Bureau:

Click here to read more about LVEDC’s ongoing talent supply initiative. Click here to see previous talent supply initiative updates.