The Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) recently released its final report from a year-long study to assess the regional talent market and identify wide-ranging strategies to grow, recruit, develop, and retain talent in the Lehigh Valley.

That report highlighted five target industry sectors in particular: 1) manufacturing (advanced and food & beverage), 2) high-value business services, 3) life science research & manufacturing, 4) transportation, warehousing, logistics & wholesale, and 5) health care.

Each week, we will highlight some of the study’s findings from each of those five target sectors. Below are the findings from the high-value business services sector.

Overview: The Lehigh Valley’s top industry by employment is health care and social assistance. Specifically, health care is a significant contributor to the American economy, having risen from 13 percent of the national GDP in 1995 to 17 percent in 2014. Several major demographic shifts nationally have contributed to this industry’s expansion, with further growth projected in the future. The number of Americans ages 65+ is projected to more than double from 46 million today to over 98 million by 2060, and that age group’s share of the total population will rise from 15 percent to nearly 24 percent. Obesity rates among older adults have been increasing, standing at about 40 percent of 65-to-74-year-olds in 2009-2012.

Employees: 53,056
Employers: 1,489
Employment Change (Five-Year): 4,060
Average Annual Growth Rate: 2%
Average Compensation (annual): $46,452
Total Wages: $2.46 billion
Source: Employer data comes from U.S. Census Bureau’s 2015 County Business Patterns. Data from the other fields come from Chmura JobsEQ® Platform.

Projections: Over the past five years, the health care sector has remained one of the largest industry sectors, with a multitude of facilities throughout the region everywhere from populated urban centers to more rural communities. The sector will need to replace 29,586 workers during the next five years. Approximately 12,330 workers are anticipated to exit the workforce during the next five years, with another 12,911 workers transferring to another industry. Perhaps unique to this target sector is the amount of anticipated new employment is needed, with approximately 4,339 workers added to the total employment demand.

Forecasted Employment in 2022: 57,395
Anticipated Employment Change (2017-22): 4,339
Total Replacement Demand: 29,586
Anticipated Exits (2017-22): 12,330
Anticipated Transfers (2017-22): 12,911
Source: Chmura JobsEQ® Platform