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Manufacturing in NE Ohio to Exceed Nation through 2020
CLEVELAND -- The shift from traditional to advanced manufacturing is playing a critical role in the region’s economic transformation. Between 2010 and 2020, manufacturing gross regional product is projected to grow 39% to a $43 billion sector of the regional economy.
And U.S output is projected to grow 33%, according to the quarterly Cleveland Plus Economic Review released Monday by Team NEO.
“Manufacturing output in northeastern Ohio has lagged that of the United States for more than 20 years,” said Tom Waltermire, CEO of Team NEO. “However, we are producing as much today as we did in 1990. We still manufacture many things here -- but what we make has changed. We are more productive, and that has led to fewer jobs. Outpacing U.S. manufacturing growth for the remainder of this decade would be a significant change. It will fuel purchases of goods and services across the region and stabilize employment. Manufacturers will be actively hiring new workers simply to keep up with a large number of retirements," he said.
The Economic Review also provides updates on current economic activity. Growth in the fourth quarter was slower than earlier in the year. Unemployment remains better than the U.S. average.
Among the statistics provided in the report:
- From 1990 to 2010 there was a significant negative gap in the growth of manufacturing gross product between northeastern Ohio and the United States. From 2010 to 2020, output is projected to grow faster in northeastern Ohio (39%) than the nation (33%).
- Several key sectors -- plastics and rubber (104%), chemicals (67%) and food (24%) -- are projected to grow faster than the United States as a whole.
- Cleveland employment remains steady. Employment stood at 2.04 million workers in the fourth quarter of 2012, remaining flat over the same period in 2011.
- Northeastern Ohio’s unemployment rate of 6.6% represents a 1% year-over-year decline. This compares with the U.S. unemployment rate of 7.5%.
- Year-over-year, manufacturing employment rose 3.1%, adding 7,000 jobs.
- In the fourth quarter, 73 wells were permitted, 17 were newly drilled and six began producing.
Team NEO publishes the Cleveland Plus Economic Review, a quarterly, to provide a holistic picture of the northeastern Ohio economy. It says it is the only regular source of collective economic data for the 18-county region. Since 2007, Team NEO has played a role in attracting 67 new company operations, more than 5,900 new jobs and $243 million in annual payroll to northeastern Ohio, leading to a total annual regional payroll benefit of more than $575 million.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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