Regional Chambers Offer a Cautiously Optimistic 2026 Economic Forecast
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A joint panel of chamber of commerce economists from the Lehigh Valley and Berks County offered a cautiously optimistic outlook for the coming year, projecting modest regional job growth concentrated in healthcare, logistics, and specialty manufacturing.
Panelists cited stabilizing interest rates and a slower but still positive pace of warehouse and distribution hiring as reasons for measured confidence, while flagging continued softness in retail employment and a tight housing market as headwinds for wage growth.
"We're not calling this a boom," one panel economist told business members gathered for the forecast breakfast. "We're calling it a plateau that isn't dropping, which after the last few years counts as good news."
Employers in the audience raised concerns about the availability of skilled trades workers, particularly electricians and HVAC technicians, a shortage panelists said was likely to persist regardless of broader economic conditions. Both chambers said they plan to expand joint apprenticeship funding in response.
The forecast panel, now in its eighth year, has become a fixture for regional business planning ahead of annual budget season.
