Top 25 Largest Employers in Greater Reading

The 2022 Mid-Year State of the Economy  confirmed the largest industry sector in Berks County based on both GDP and employment numbers continues to be Manufacturing, employing over 30,000 workers. While manufacturing employment numbers are strong, the numbers indicate there are approximately 2,000 fewer workers than in 2019 (prepandemic).

The next-largest sectors in the region are Health Care employing approximately 29,500 workers and Retail Trade, employing 19,454 workers. These employment numbers are generally higher than they were in 2021 – Manufacturing and Health Care and Social Assistance trade top place on the number
of employees in each sector.

When Location Quotient (LQ), is a measurement of concentration in comparison to the nation, is taken into consideration, data reveals specific areas of concentration with manufacturing. This allows us and others to understand industries and occupations that are unique to our region. An LQ of 1.00 indicates a region has the same concentration of an industry (or occupation) as the nation. An LQ of 2.00 indicates the region has twice the expected employment compared to the nation and an LQ of 0.50 would mean the region has half the expected employment in comparison to the nation.

Manufacturing | LQ 2.09
Electric/Electronics Manufacturing has a location quotient of 4.75. This cluster employs 8,921 workers in the region with an average wage of $71,284. Employment in the cluster is projected to expand in the region about 0.5% per year over the next ten years.