Report shows Lynchburg falling behind in economic performance

LYNCHBURG, Va (WSET) — An annual Old Dominion University State of the Commonwealth report shows Lynchburg is among the bottom cities in Virginia when it comes to the economy.

The report is broken into six sections with data on cities from 2010 to 2020 and shares changes made in each region during 2021.

"We asked a simple question -- who's added more jobs or who has added more economic activity over time, and Lynchburg tended to be in the bottom third of metro areas," said Bob McNad an economics professor at Old Dominion University.

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He said the Hill City and the surrounding areas fell behind in job growth.

"So the question for Lynchburg is if people aren't coming back to the labor force in significant numbers -- the question is why?" he added.

Tim Saunders, a business engagement and outreach coordinator with Virginia Career Works, said this report is only a snapshot of where Lynchburg was, not where the city is now.

"It's given us a picture of how things have evolved, but I think right now, we're in a very good place economically," Saunders said.

He said employment is strong here, but the labor force shrunk between 2010 and 2020, which the report shows.

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The report said Lynchburg only saw a 3.5% job growth during that time, lagging behind the rest of the state.

"We don't have the large working-age population that we need to fill all of our jobs, but we also don't have the skilled labor force," he added.

This is something Benjamin Noyes, a co-owner at Georgia's restaurant, is seeing.

"It's the number of applicants and the quality of applicants that are our two challenges," he said.

Noyes said he hasn't seen hiring this bad since the '80s. He said the new minimum wage in Virginia makes hiring competitive.

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"...That's for everybody but specifically for the companies like restaurants that need to survive and they don't necessarily pay premium wages," Noyes said.

These employees are important to him and his wife, who is co-owner with him, to keep up with the lunch rush.

ABC13 also reached out to the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance about the report.

They later sent out a press release in response. You can read the full press release below: