Ohio Manufacturing Job Growth Gains Momentum

Contact: Jennifer Ratcliff
Manufacturers' News, Inc.
(847) 864-9440 ext. 241
jratcliff [at] mni.net




EVANSTON, Ill, December 6th, 2017/Manufacturers' News, Inc./-- In its sixth straight year of gains, Ohio manufacturing employment edged up a half percent, according to new data collected by MNI (Manufacturers' News, Inc.) Evanston, IL. MNI reports Ohio manufacturers added 5,217 jobs between September 2016 and September 2017, more than twice the number of jobs the state gained over the 2015-2016 survey period.

Ohio’s 16,279 manufacturers employ 894,788 in the state, reports MNI. Manufacturers in Ohio have added jobs at a steady clip since September of 2011, though the state’s industrial jobs levels remain far lower than the 996,680 jobs reported prior to the recession.

“Ohio’s thriving auto industry helped recoup a large share of losses suffered during the recession, and now we’re seeing positive signs from a diverse set of industries. The state has attracted some serious foreign investment, the most notable being the massive Fuyao Glass plant, while many existing manufacturers are set to expand,” says Tom Dubin, President of the Evanston, IL-based publishing company, which has been surveying industry since 1912. “However, despite an abundance of incentive programs, high business costs continue to plague the state’s industrial businesses.”

The transportation equipment industry has been central to Ohio’s manufacturing job gains, surging 14% between September 2011 and September 2016. However, employment gains in that sector leveled out over the past year, with no new net jobs added. The transportation industry currently ranks third in the state for number of industrial jobs, employing 94,051.

Instead, the state’s industrial economy appears to have strengthened across multiple sectors, with solid gains reported in stone/clay/glass, up 6%; chemical processing, up 2%; rubber/plastics, up 2%; and furniture/fixtures, up 2%. Food processing and fabricated metals each gained 1%, while employment in the industrial machinery sector, the state’s top sector by number of industrial jobs, rose a half percent.

Some of the major operations behind Ohio’s manufacturing employment gain included Chinese manufacturer Fuyao Glass, which established the world’s largest automotive glass manufacturing facility at an idled GM plant in Moraine. The plant, currently employing 2,000, is slated to eventually employ 3,000 Ohio workers. Recleim opened an appliance recycling facility in Lima, while Dana, Inc broke ground on an axle manufacturing plant in Toledo. Major expansions were also noted, and included Johnson Electric’s Vandalia plant and Amcor Rigid Plastics’ packaging facility in Bellevue.

Employment was mostly stable across all remaining industries with small decreases noted in textiles/apparel, down 2% and primary metals, also down 2%.

Manufacturing locations closing in Ohio included Columbus Castings, which shuttered its Columbus foundry, and Elyria’s 3M plant.

MNI’s regional data shows job gains were spread across the majority of Ohio’s six regions, and were strongest in Southeast Ohio, up 2.1% to 29,534 jobs. Factory jobs rose 1.7% in both Northeast and North Central Ohio, accounting for 328,038 and 29,534 workers, respectively. Industrial employment climbed 1.4% in Southwest Ohio to 217,748 jobs, and rose 1.1% in the state’s Northwest region to 137,815. Employment was virtually unchanged in South Central Ohio, with the region home to 96,254 workers.

MNI’s city data shows factory employment in Ohio’s major industrial cities continues to decline. Cincinnati, which ranks first in the state for number of manufacturing jobs, reported a loss of 1.2% and is currently home to 71,775 workers. Jobs remained steady at 57,021 in second-ranked Cleveland, but declined 2.6% in third-ranked Columbus to 41,388. Jobs fell a half percent in both Dayton and Toledo, home to 24,531 and 21,223 jobs, respectively.

Established in 1912, MNI is the nation’s oldest and largest compiler of industrial information, offering tailored solutions to help customers connect with 430,000 manufacturers and suppliers. MNI’s industrial marketplace IndustryNet: http://www.industrynet.com is a one-stop resource that connects buyers with suppliers of 10,000 + products and services, and allows users to obtain competitive quotes, create and view company profiles, post company news releases, photos, videos, job openings, and more. MNI’s subscription service EZ Select: http://www.ezselect.com provides access to MNI’s live interactive database of manufacturers. For more information, contact MNI at 847-864-7000 or visit http://www.mni.net