Warren County, New York, Has Nation’s Highest Concentration of Medical Equipment & Supplies Jobs – An Opportunity to Support More Domestic Production
(June 16, 2020; Glens Falls, New York) – As the coronavirus pandemic underscores the importance of the domestic manufacturing of medical equipment and supplies, new U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data is revealing for the first time that Warren County, New York, has the nation’s highest concentration of jobs in that industry, according to a Center for Economic Growth (CEG) data analysis.
Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing
BLS recently started disclosing the number of jobs in Warren County’s Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing1 industry. The data shows that in 2019 the county had 1,509 jobs in the industry, resulting in an 18.2 location quotient (LQ).2 That LQ represented the nation’s highest concentration of jobs in this industry among more than 500 U.S. counties for which full employment data is disclosed.
“We’ve long known that Warren County’s Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing industry is unique on the national level, and we now have the data to quantify that. While our manufacturers do not focus on the personal protective equipment that is in high demand amid this crisis, COVID-19’s supply chain disruptions have underscored the importance of domestically producing medical equipment and supplies. Warren County has a sizeable and skilled workforce that’s been doing this type of production for decades, and if more of that manufacturing gets on-shored then we’re ready for it,” said Warren County EDC President Ed Bartholomew.
“As the nation comes to terms with how much manufacturing of medical equipment and supplies and pharmaceuticals is no longer done in this country, we are developing a deeper understanding of how much of this activity we have in the Capital Region. What we have here is nationally unique, and we want the Capital Region to be the first place that leaders in business and politics think of when they start looking to increase domestic production of these essential products. When it comes to this type of manufacturing, Warren County is the Capital Region’s northern star, and that is why CEG partnered with Warren County EDC for this research,” said CEG President and CEO Andrew Kennedy.
Catheter Valley
For over 50 years, Warren County’s Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing industry has been making high quality products, earning the area the name Catheter Valley. Companies such as AngioDynamics, Becton Dickinson (BD) Bard, Delcath Systems and Medline Industries have kept that tradition alive.
Other notable statistics disclosed by BLS about the county Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing industry include total annual wages of $92.8 million in 2019. The annual average wage per employee was $61,354. The industry included five employer establishments in the county. Other counties with high concentrations (LQs) of Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing jobs were Yamhill County, Oregon (17.99); Pickaway County, Ohio (7.05); Lake County, Illinois (6.43); and Shelby County, Tennessee (5.95).
Data Disclosure
BLS last fall started reporting full employment data for Warren County’s Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing industry. That data, from BLS’s Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, had previously been suppressed due to disclosure standards for each quarter going back to 2015. BLS’s disclosure of the industry data coincided with AngioDynamics’ June 2019 sale of its NAMIC fluid management portfolio to Medline Industries. It appears this deal helped diversify the industry’s employment makeup enough to overcome the disclosure standards that had prevented BLS from fully detailing the County’s Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing employment.
Notes
1 NAICS 3391, includes the manufacturing of surgical and medical instruments; surgical appliances and supplies; dental equipment and supplies; ophthalmic goods; and dental laboratories.
2 The LQ is a measure of a region’s employment concentration in comparison to the nation’s. An LQ of 1 represents the national average.
About Warren County EDC
EDC is the central source for Warren County economic development efforts, as it guides programs and projects throughout the southern Adirondack region. EDC produces results through its advocacy and by building collaborative public-private partnerships designed to encourage new investment opportunities that create jobs.
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