“It’s truly remarkable to consider that the economic output of our two counties has increased to the point that it’s larger than two states,” said Don Cunningham, President and CEO of the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC). “We saw growth across each of our economic subsectors, and manufacturing continues to grow in the Lehigh Valley, making up an even larger percentage of the regional economy than last year.”
The findings released Sept. 20 by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) show that the Lehigh Valley economy now ranks 65th out of the 382 largest metropolitan areas in the United States, compared to ranking 73rd last year.
The Lehigh Valley GDP is now larger than of Wyoming ($38.5 billion) and Vermont ($31.5 billion), as well as 108 other countries in the world. If the Lehigh Valley were a country, it would be the 87th largest in the world in terms of economic output.
A breakdown of the total GDP by subsector, as well as the rate of year-over-year growth, can be found below:
· Finance, insurance, and real estate: $8 billion (+5.9 percent)Manufacturing year-over-year growth was led by a 4.5 percent increase in non-durable goods manufacturing. This includes food and beverage and chemical products, which reflects two of the target sectors of the Lehigh Valley (food & beverage processing and life science research & manufacturing) as identified by LVEDC.
· Manufacturing: $6.9 billion (+2.6 percent)
· Education and health care: $5.3 billion (+4.6 percent)
· Professional and business services: $5.3 billion (+4.2 percent)
· Retail trade: $2.3 billion (+3.2 percent)
· Information: $1.9 billion (+1.6 percent)
· Transportation and warehousing: $1.9 billion (+9.5 percent)
· Arts, accommodation, and food services: $1.6 billion (+5.4 percent)
Transportation and warehousing is the fastest-growing sector of the regional economy, according to the BEA, with 9.5 percent growth year-over-year.
Goods-producing industries in the Lehigh Valley economy increased by 3.4 percent, according to the BEA, while service-producing industries increased by 4.4 percent.
These GDP figures derive from the BEA and were analyzed and presented by George Lewis, LVEDC Director of Research and Analysis. GDP rankings of other countries come from the World Bank. The BEA adjusts its figures to account for new information and projections, so numbers that have been reported for previous years may have been changed or adjusted over time.
2016 is the most recent year for which measurable GDP data is available. The $39.1 billion GDP figure does not account for government spending.
(Blogger's Note: This post is based on information supplied by LVEDC and cites its sources).
Yet at last night's tax reform meeting we were told that PA was in the dumps for new business, etc. Just one of the sketchy financial data points presented by Mr. Boltz who clearly was not a neutral party even though he was presented as one.
ReplyDeleteBenie, love the nillion numbers faked numbers put to print as facts and sold to the public as unbiased data collected. These astronomical numbers are comical to say the least, in this data collected are they calculating incarcirations as commerce as well as criminal activities monies. I travel all over the valley and know for a fact feet on the street does not make genuine legal revenue, so if someone is willing to explain were these numbers truely come from this would be very helpful.
ReplyDeleteJust maybe they are allready calculating in the rain water tax that will be paid for in a three fold manner because there will be no one entity exempt.
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ReplyDeleteStay on topic
ReplyDeleteHokie joe says....
ReplyDeleteThis is further proof of what I have said in the past. Thank You Northampton County and Community Leaders who have taken a positive view on Economic Development and Land preservation. Think about this simple fact. Just a few short years ago, We had 11 Cement Industries in the Valley that employed thousands. We had a Garment Industry that employed tens of thousands. We had a Steel Industry that employed thirty thousand steelworkers in its hey days. We had a Slate and Quarry industry that employed thousands. There are more examples but these are only some of the big ones. All of these industries as we knew them are in all reality gone, yet, we enjoy one of the "lowest unemployment rates" in the Country. Our leaders had to be doing something right. Thank you democrats and republicans alike. In this area you have excelled.
Speaking of the Cement Industry, three of the largest companies in the world have a prescence here in the LV. One with a research facility in the Macungie. Why weren't these cement giants included in the LVEDC promotional video? How many times do they need to promote the defunct blast furnaces?
ReplyDeleteBernie,
ReplyDeleteThere must be a bottle of snake oil some where buried in those numbers. Seeing all the poverty that makes up the greater percentages, how is this even possible?