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Business

The economic base of Lebanon Valley is strong and varied, and there are many reasons why new and expanding businesses are drawn to the area. Real estate taxes are moderate, as is the cost of industrial and commercial land.

Funding and incentives such as tax-exempt industry revenue bonds, small business funds, workforce training grants and infrastructure programs are readily available for growing companies.

The business community in Lebanon County is becoming increasingly diverse, with a strong manufacturing base, printing firms, pharmaceutical operations, warehousing and distribution companies, and a robust service sector. The county’s solid workforce and ideal location are strong factors that contribute both to the influx of new companies and the expansion of existing businesses.

Lebanon County employees are skilled and have a strong work ethic. Of the approximately 83,000 persons in Lebanon County aged 25 years or older, nearly 80 percent have a high school diploma and over 15 percent have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Forty-one percent of these people are in blue-collar occupations, 26 percent in white-collar jobs, 19 percent in professional/ management positions and 16 percent are in the service sector. The unemployment rate is one of the lowest in the state and was listed at 3.8 percent in Spring 2008.

Nearly 5,000 businesses call the Lebanon Valley area home, where large companies exist side-by-side with small businesses. The Lebanon Valley Chamber of Commerce represents a “business melting pot” with its membership comprised of a variety of types and sizes of businesses from all areas of the Lebanon Valley. The Chamber provides legislative representation, business training programs, networking opportunities, business assistance programs and group benefit programs.

Agriculture

The Lebanon Valley has been recognized as a place filled with rich agricultural land since the arrival of Germanic peoples in the 1700s. The agricultural industry remains one of the County’s largest industries, with almost 45 percent of its land utilized for agricultural purposes. Lebanon County is regularly listed as one of the top two counties in Pennsylvania for poultry production and in the top six for milk, corn and soybean production. What’s more, around 3.4 percent of the County’s population has listed agricultural as their form of employment.