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 life sciences sector is on the rise nationally in tandem with the increasing demand for health services. Pennsylvania is a national leader in the life science industry, and the Lehigh Valley in particular offers tremendous competitive advantages in the life, biological, and biomedical science fields. According to the Life Sciences Pennsylvania, over half of the industry establishments in the state have fewer than 10 employees, and the sector contributes a total (direct and indirect) state economic output of $88.5 billion. Between 2011 and 2016, Pennsylvania experienced modest life sciences employment growth in comparison to peer states due to a decline in pharmaceutical manufacturing in the Commonwealth and concurrent gains in research, testing and medical laboratories.

Employees: 10,388
Employers: 108
Employment Change (Five-Year): 214
Average Annual Growth Rate: -1%
Average Compensation (annual): $86,441
Total Wages: $898 million
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 life science research and manufacturing sector has boasted many success stories in the Lehigh Valley. Over the last five years, this $898 million in wages industry was at the forefront of combating viruses such as Ebola. A specialized industry, life science research and manufacturing activities remain a critical sector for local postsecondaries. A strong growth in the healthcare services industry also complements the importance of this target sector. Our forecast shows this sector will need to replace nearly half of its existing workers during the next five years. Approximately 2,000 workers are anticipated to exit the workforce during the next five years, with another 2,789 workers transferring to another industry. The sector is also forecasted to add another 565 workers.

Forecasted Employment in 2022: 10,953
Anticipated Employment Change (2017-22): 565
Total Replacement Demand: 5,354
Anticipated Exits (2017-22): 1,999
Anticipated Transfers (2017-22): 2,789
Source: Chmura JobsEQ® Platform