This column is excerpted from an address at the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp.’s 2024 annual meeting last week.
The Lehigh Valley led the nation in economic development projects among regions of equivalent size in Site Selection magazine’s just released Governor’s Cup rankings of all 50 states and 350 metropolitan markets.
We’ve been in the top 10 for a decade. The days of being second have ended.
It’s a remarkable achievement, considering that we compete against the hottest markets in high-growth regions of the South and Southwest.
But the Lehigh Valley cuts against the grain because together, as a region, we’ve built lasting partnerships and a strategic focus to create job opportunities for people of all education and skill levels.
Wages are up. Household income is increasing. The population is growing. Employers are adding jobs. Economic output exceeds $50 billion. More than two full states.
We are good at making things. We always have been.
While some places that drove the 20th century industrial economy remain in decline, the Lehigh Valley has had steady growth in manufacturing jobs as existing companies expanded and new ones come because of our location, skilled workforce and population.
Manufacturing is 16% of our economic output. It’s 12% of the U.S. economy.
But it’s not just about manufacturing. The Lehigh Valley economy is balanced with job opportunities across sectors – ranging from the lab to the professional office to the shop floor. One of our most active sectors today is semiconductor technology, spurred by the federal government’s CHIPS Act – and our legacy of Bell Labs and Western Electric making the world’s first transistors here.
I came to this work nearly 12 years ago after almost two decades in the public sector, elected and appointed. What compelled me then is what compels me today – a belief that economic development is meant to create opportunity for people of all skills, educational levels and all walks of life, regardless of race or gender or station in life. It’s to create opportunity so young people remain – to carve out their piece of the American dream here like their parents and grandparents did.
After graduating from Freedom High School in Bethlehem during the early 1980s, I remember my classmates leaving. Earlier in my career, the focus was on stopping what was called “brain drain.”
The statistics I hope you remember are about people not projects.
We’ve outpaced the nation and the state in the growth rate of 18–34-year-olds. Northampton County last year was first among all Pennsylvania counties
We are cutting against the grain.
Interestingly, since the last census, with birth rates in decline, more people have died than have been born – but the Lehigh Valley grew. Because people discovered us and are coming here.
Northampton County is third among Pennsylvania counties for domestic migration – and in the top 4% of all U.S. counties.
Lehigh County is third among Pennsylvania counties for international migration – and in the top 4% of all U.S. counties.
This is why we led the country in our market size with 50 new projects last year. A growing population, particularly of young people, is the most critical component to retain and grow companies and to attract new ones.
Conversely, without economic opportunity, the days of brain drain will return. Our focus needs to remain on the horizon.
We’ve hovered around full employment for the last seven years, except for a short spike during the pandemic. Today, unemployment is 3.7%. If you want a job, there’s one here and – in most sectors – with numerous options.
That’s translated to better income. Lehigh Valley median household income today exceeds $78,000 – it’s grown by more than $15,000 the last five years. Higher than the state and the country.
The average hourly wage is now $27.37. And while inflation has certainly taken a bite out of that – imagine what that would be without it.
Our poverty rate has declined since the 2010 census to 10.7%. Again, lower than Pennsylvania and the nation.
But with progress and growth comes change and challenge. Emerging trends – changes in office work, limited availability of industrial and manufacturing space, public sentiment toward development, higher costs and access to affordable housing for our growing population – make it clear that the Lehigh Valley is at an inflection point.
LVEDC has long been committed to a balanced approach to growth focused on redeveloping brownfield sites, revitalizing cities and downtowns, and targeting high-value strategic sectors like manufacturing, life sciences, technology and professional services. Our work is targeted on the hard to do – where we need to push the market and drive the development of talent.
We support land use and community planning initiatives focused on strategic economic growth in a changing Lehigh Valley. The region needs to balance the equally important elements of quality of life, open space and economic opportunity.
Conversely, we need to guard against rushed and reactionary change – where in addressing one issue, we create an adverse effect on critical parts of the economic ecosystem.
The wisdom of decisions made today will determine the opportunity that exists tomorrow for the next generation.
When I stood on this site as a young mayor in 1998 as the steel industry came to an end, the challenges were much different. We needed jobs and hope. Many regions are still searching for both. It wasn’t that long ago. And we don’t want to return to those days.
Today we have the challenges of success.
That’s why it’s critical now that we work together – as we’ve always had – to meet the challenges of a new era, a new time.
Don Cunningham is the president and CEO of the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. He can be reached at news@lehighvalley.org.
