Job losses in manufacturing were some of the biggest stories of the recession, and contributed to the pain of that economic downturn being felt so strongly in manufacturing-heavy states such as Ohio. But a study from the Brookings Institution says since the beginning of 2010, manufacturing jobs have grown 5.2 percent in the Midwest, while going up by only 2.2 percent in the South, which had been gaining manufacturing jobs for years. Bruce Katz is a vice president at Brookings.
“There is strong evidence that we are experiencing a manufacturing moment. The manufacturing sector has contributed 38% of GDP growth post-recession.”
And Katz says manufacturing has come roaring back in the big metro areas of the US, where 80 percent of manufacturing jobs are in metropolitan areas. Katz says the cities in the Midwest have benefitted the most, and he says Ohio is third in the nation in terms of manufacturing jobs, with those positions mostly located in the state’s big eight urban areas. And Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Toledo are in the top 50 for manufacturing employment – with Cleveland leading the Ohio pack at number 13. And Katz says overall, the study shows Ohioans may see a bright future in manufacturing.
“Ohio is a supercharged metro state. Its top – your top – seven metro areas house 71% of the state’s population, 78% of your GDP. All 16 of your metro areas – 81% of the population, 86% of your economic output.”
Katz says manufacturing costs are rising in other countries, so the US needs to reorient its economy to take advantage of this new demand for manufacturing of everything from high-tech machinery to clothing to pharmaceuticals to cars and appliances. The study from Brookings, a think tank that some consider to be left-leaning, suggests that governments aren’t doing enough to help manufacturing by focusing on tax breaks or so-called right to work laws, and they should look at workforce training and research and development. Katz says Ohio has made some moves that put it ahead of other states.
“Now with the formation of JobsOhio, this state is getting back in the game. The Third Frontier fund, replenished through a $700 million bond referendum in 2010, is already considered a model for state support for technological innovation.”
The report also found that wages vary widely among metro areas. Average earnings in Midwestern cities were around $60,000 a year. None of Ohio’s cities ranked in the top 25 for manufacturing wages, where workers earned an average of nearly $68,000 annually. most of those cities are in California, but a few are in New England and the mid-Atlantic states. But Ohio’s cities also weren’t in the worst 10 for wages – workers in the bottom of that group earned less than $35,000 a year.
