There are more people out of work all over the region and the state. Since a year ago June, unemployment in Clevleand is up 2 percent: now over 10% of the population. Summit County, thought to be doing better than other parts of the region, saw its jobless numbers rise to 6.2 percent--slightly less than the state average.
Sue Huff is the Northeast Ohio regional vice president of the job placement firm Adecco. She says, despite the grim reports, there are still a lot of positions out there that need filling--especially in highly-skilled areas like engineering and high-level manufacturing.
HUFF: Manufacturing positions such as skilled machinists: There is a drought.
Huff says sectors doing well in the region are medical devices, military contractors, and renewable energy, but some of these employers are having trouble attracting qualified talent in the area.
HUFF: I personally feel that a lot of our folks who are looking for work--people who are looking to be gainfully employed, don't always the proper tools to go out and find those companies, find those opportunities.
One traditional manufacturer that's in trouble blames it on the financial crisis. At Norwalk Furniture, south of Sandusky, five-hundred workers have been idled after the company's credit was cut off. Norwalk Chairman Jim Gerken says it's not clear yet if the shutdown will just be temporary. He says the company is trying to obtain credit from other sources, but can't rule out bankruptcy.
GERKEN: I'm sure this unfortunate circumstance for our company is going to have a real tough effect on our local economy.
The problems at Norwalk follow other US furniture companies that have sent manufacturing overseas or gone out of business in recent years.