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 high-value business services sector responds to the demands of corporations that are seeking to adapt to rapid changes in customer expectations (increased online commercial operations, cloud computing, debit/ credit card use, and smart phone transactions) while desiring to maintain focus on their core business activities. Demand is driven by new business growth, job growth, increasing corporate involvement, and increasing disposable income. While large companies may operate globally or within a specific region, many business services firms serve smaller geographic areas near their headquarters. These sectors will continue to grow as the U.S. economy continues to transition towards service industries. Professional and business services (contained in high-value business services) contributes $5.3 billion to the Lehigh Valley’s $39.1 billion gross domestic product.

Employees: 53,126
Employers: 2,853
Employment Change (Five-Year): 1,358
Average Annual Growth Rate: 2%
Average Compensation (annual): $64,953
Total Wages: $3.45 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: The Lehigh Valley is well-positioned to serve this sector. The region’s central location puts companies in close proximity to the financial and insurance capitals of the nation, like New York and Philadelphia. A strong cluster of shared service and back office facilities already exist in the Lehigh Valley, which has supported the continued growth of this target sector. High-value business services will need to replace 28,952 workers during the next five years. Approximately 10,930 workers are anticipated to exit the workforce in the next five years, with another 16,313 workers transferring to another industry. Despite the sector being quite volatile, is it still forecasted to add another 1,709 workers in the next five years.

Forecasted Employment in 2022: 54,835
Anticipated Employment Change (2017-22): 1,709
Total Replacement Demand: 28,952
Anticipated Exits (2017-22): 10,930
Anticipated Transfers (2017-22): 16,313
Source: Chmura JobsEQ® Platform