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 rise of e-commerce has increased the importance of the transportation, warehousing and logistics sector. It is the fastest-growing sector in the Lehigh Valley economy, with a 9.5 percent year-over-year growth in economic output, adding 10,000 jobs in the last five years. This is fueled in part by the construction of new fulfillment centers by such companies as Amazon, Walmart, and Zulily. The region’s central location makes us a prime location for companies in this sector, and that is not expected to change absent major changes in technology.

Employees: 34,271
Employers: 698
Employment Change (Five-Year): 10,019
Average Annual Growth Rate: 5%
Average Compensation (annual): $54,743
Total Wages: $1.88 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 transportation, warehousing and logics sector will need to replace 20,978 workers (over 60 percent) in the next five years; a projected 7,825 workers will exit the workforce within the next five years, while another 11,688 are expected to transfer to another industry. This sector is volatile and is forecasted to add another 1,463 workers in the next five years. As the sector becomes more important, there has been a much-publicized driver shortage in trucking seen as part of a larger employee shortage problem facing the entire transportation industry, including the warehouse and logistics sectors. This shortage of trained individuals to replace a rapidly aging workforce in trucking and warehousing may ultimately raise transport and storage costs for shippers.

Forecasted Employment in 2022: 35,734
Anticipated Employment Change (2017-22): 1,463
Total Replacement Demand: 20,978
Anticipated Exits (2017-22): 7,825
Anticipated Transfers (2017-22): 11,688
Source: Chmura JobsEQ® Platform