LVEDC has commissioned a series of digital billboards that highlight important statistics and information about the Lehigh Valley economy.

The Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) has unveiled a series of new digital billboards in keeping with our ongoing mission to gather and provide intelligence and data about the Lehigh Valley economy.

The billboards highlight important statistics and information about the regional economy, including our gross domestic product (GDP) growth, office and industrial market vacancy rates, labor force and job growth figures, and the number of degrees awarded by regional colleges and universities.

“Research and data analysis is one of the most important functions at LVEDC, as it helps us develop in-depth market intelligence and recognize emerging economic trends,” said LVEDC President & CEO Don Cunningham. “In order to grow, it’s critical that we know thyself as a region and build strategic plans based on facts, data, and information.”

Such facts and data will be highlighted on a dozen new LVEDC-commissioned digital billboards that will appear along Route 22 throughout the second quarter of 2018, which include a link to lehighvalley.org/data for additional information.

Among the facts highlighted by the billboards are the Lehigh Valley’s record-high $39.1 billion GDP, its labor force of 344,623, and the fact that 24,246 new jobs have been added in the region over the last five years.

“Many of the facts we’ve chosen to highlight are those that prospect companies and site selectors seek when considering a region for location decisions,” said Michael Keller, LVEDC Director of Marketing. “It’s important for us to have a detailed understanding of the Lehigh Valley economy, especially in comparison with other competing regions.”

The Lehigh Valley is now the 68th largest metropolitan area in the United States by population, and if it were a country, it would be the 87th largest in the world. Additionally, the regional GDP is larger than that of Wyoming ($38.5 billion) and Vermont ($31.5 billion), as well as 108 other countries.

The billboards were designed by Michelle Chrin, who also designed the LVEDC 2017 Annual Report, which was first released last month. Much of the data and information on the billboards was also highlighted in the annual report, which can be read or downloaded here.

One of the billboards will be located on Adams Outdoor Advertising billboards along Route 22, Keller said.

The mission of LVEDC is to market the economic assets of the Lehigh Valley and to create partnerships to lead the recruitment, growth, and retention of employees.