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 manufacturing sector.

Overview: Manufacturing is the second-largest economic sector in the Lehigh Valley, contributing $6.89 billion toward the region’s $39.1 billion gross domestic product, or nearly 18 percent of the total regional GDP. According to the National Science and Technology Council, manufacturing has the greatest economic multiplier of any other sector, creating four additional jobs for every one job in manufacturing. The impact of manufacturing is expected to grow with the development of new technology and processes, which will require a large number of highly skilled workers. Nationally, a projected 3.5 million new manufacturing jobs are expected to be created in the next decade, with 2 million of those positions remaining unfilled due to a skills gap.

Employees: 24,764
Employers: 317
Employment Change (Five-Year): 2,564
Average Annual Growth Rate: 8%
Average Compensation (annual): $70,302
Total Wages: $1.74 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: Our demand forecast indicates the manufacturing (advanced and food & beverage) sector in the Lehigh Valley will need to replace nearly 12,000 workers during the next five years. Approximately 4,685 workers are anticipated to exit the workforce during the next five years, with another 8,074 workers transferring to another industry. This sector is in the midst of a significant upheaval; as customer demands change, numerous new subsector opportunities have arisen with this target sector. However, the Lehigh Valley boasts a unique mix of assets to accommodate this fast-changing sector and is well-positioned to continue advancing manufacturing activity.

Forecasted Employment in 2022: 23,955
Anticipated Employment Change (2017-22): -809
Total Replacement Demand: 11,956
Anticipated Exits (2017-22): 4,685
Anticipated Transfers (2017-22): 8,074
Source: Chmura JobsEQ® Platform