Ohio Industrial Employment Shrinks by 106,000 Jobs Over Past 24 Months

Industrial employment in Ohio fell 10.4 percent over the past twenty-four months according to the 2010 Ohio Manufacturers Directory®, an industrial directory published annually by Manufacturers’ News, Inc. (MNI; Evanston, IL). MNI reports Ohio lost 106,629 manufacturing jobs over the past two years, with 27,398 jobs lost between August 2007 and August 2008 and 79,231 industrial jobs from 2008 to August of 2009. Over the same period, Ohio lost 1,198 manufacturers or 6 percent.

Ohio is now home to 18,762 manufacturers employing 918,721 workers, compared to a high of 1.3 million industrial workers and 21,000 manufacturers in 1994. The loss of nearly 80,000 manufacturing jobs over the past twelve months marks the sharpest decline MNI has ever reported in the twenty-six years it has been tracking the state’s industry.

“As with the entire nation, the recession continues to hit Ohio’s core sectors, particularly the auto industry, while the faltering housing market has affected industries such as wood products, furniture and building products,” says Tom Dubin, president of MNI, which has been surveying industry since 1912.

Employment in the lumber & wood sector saw the sharpest decline, down 44 percent over the past twenty-four months, and employment in furniture/fixtures saw an 11.4 percent drop.

Ohio’s top manufacturing sector remains industrial machinery & equipment with 144,747 of the state’s industrial jobs, down 4.4 percent over the past twenty-four months. Second-ranked fabricated metal products accounts for 107,344 of Ohio’s industrial jobs, down 11 percent over two years. Third-ranked transportation equipment saw one of the worst drops in employment, down 20.5 percent due to the glut of auto sector layoffs and plant closings including the closure of GM’s Moraine Assembly Plant and Delphi’s Dayton plant. The transportation equipment sector currently accounts for 93,391 industrial jobs.

All other sectors in Ohio lost jobs within the past twenty-four months and included chemicals/allied products, down 21.8 percent, primary metals down 16.3 percent; paper products down 11.8 percent; electronics down 10.3 percent; textiles/apparel down 9.7 percent; stone/clay/glass down 6.3 percent; printing/publishing down 4.9 percent and food products, down the least at 1.6 percent.

Despite the losses, some bright spots have emerged recently including the opening of shipping container manufacturer CSafe, LLC in Moraine and the opening of LAH Development LLC’s wind turbine facility in Greenville.

According to the industrial directory, Northeast Ohio accounts for the largest share of the state’s industrial employment with 340,813 manufacturing jobs, down 9 percent over the past twenty-four months. Southwest Ohio ranks second at 218,465 manufacturing jobs, down 14 percent over two years. Northwest Ohio is home to 134,340 industrial jobs, down 8.9 percent, while South Central Ohio is home to 96,403 jobs, down 5.6 percent.

North Central Ohio accounts for 91,817 manufacturing jobs, down 11.6 percent while Southeast Ohio saw industrial employment drop 13 percent over the past twenty-four months, and is currently home to 36,883 manufacturing jobs.

City data shows Cincinnati is Ohio’s top city for manufacturing employment, home to 83,343 jobs, down 14 percent over the past two years. Second-ranked Cleveland accounts for 64,775 jobs, with employment down 13.5 percent. Columbus is home to 47,200 industrial jobs, down 3.1 percent over the year, while Dayton saw employment decline 28 percent and is currently home to 27,114 manufacturing jobs. Industrial employment in fifth-ranked Toledo declined 5 percent over the past twenty-four months and is currently home to 23,445 manufacturing jobs.