Industrial employment in Ohio fell 12 percent over the past 24 months according to the 2011 Ohio Manufacturers Directory, an industrial directory published annually by Manufacturers' News Inc. MNI reports Ohio lost 119,801 manufacturing jobs over the past two years, with 89,501 jobs lost between August 2008 and August 2009 and 30,300 industrial jobs lost between August 2009 and August of this year. Over the same period, Ohio lost 1,077 manufacturers.
"Decreased demand continues to affect Ohio's manufacturing industries, particularly the transportation sector and industries related to the housing market. However we're definitely seeing fewer job losses than we did a year ago," says Tom Dubin, president of the Evanston, Ill.-based publishing company, which has been surveying industry since 1912.
Bright spots for the state included several plant openings such as electric car manufacturer CODA Automotive's new facility in Columbus; TMK IPSCO's pipe finishing plant in Brookfield; Pipe Coil Technology's first US factory in Highland Heights; PBM's infant formula manufacturing plant in Covington; shaving cream manufacturer Barbasol's facility in Ashland; as well as the recent announcement that the nearly-shuttered Hugo Boss plant in Brooklyn would remain open.
Manufacturers' News reports Ohio is now home to 18,377 manufacturers employing 878,151 workers, roughly two thirds of the 1.3 million industrial workers MNI recorded for the state in 1994.
The transportation equipment sector saw the sharpest decline, down 23 percent over the past 24 months, following layoffs and closures at several Big Three sites such as GM's plants in Mansfield and Defiance, Ford's assembly plant in Avon Lake and Chrysler's plant in Perrysburg. The sector currently accounts for 84,371 industrial jobs.
Ohio's top manufacturing sector remains industrial machinery & equipment with 138,415 of the state's industrial jobs, down 8.9 percent over the past 24 months. Second-ranked fabricated metal products accounts for 102,432 of Ohio's manufacturing jobs, down 12 percent over two years. Rubber/plastics manufacturing has overtaken transportation equipment as the state's third-largest sector, and currently accounts for 85,321 industrial jobs, down 13.2 percent over the past two years.
All other sectors in Ohio lost jobs within the past 24 months and included chemicals/allied products, down 21 percent, lumber/wood, down 18.6 percent; primary metals, down 13.1 percent; electronics, down 10.9 percent; stone/clay/glass, down 10.4 percent; printing/publishing, down 10.2 percent; textiles/apparel, down 9.9 percent; paper products, down 7.7 percent; and food products, down the least at 3.4 percent.
According to the industrial directory, Northeast Ohio accounts for the largest share of the state's industrial employment with 323,686 manufacturing jobs, down 10.8 percent over the past 24 months. Southwest Ohio ranks second at 211,421 manufacturing jobs, down 14 percent over two years. Northwest Ohio is home to 127,505 industrial jobs, down 11.2 percent, while South Central Ohio is home to 93,008 jobs, down 10.7 percent.
North Central Ohio accounts for 86,736 manufacturing jobs, down 13.4 percent while Southeast Ohio saw industrial employment drop 11.7 percent over the past 24 months, and is currently home to 35,795 manufacturing jobs.
MNI's city data shows Cincinnati is Ohio's top city for manufacturing employment, home to 81,168 jobs, down 15 percent over the past two years. Second-ranked Cleveland accounts for 61,840 jobs, with employment down 13 percent. Columbus is home to 46,028 industrial jobs, down 7 percent over the year, while Dayton saw employment decline 25 percent and is currently home to 25,845 manufacturing jobs. Industrial employment in fifth-ranked Toledo declined 20 percent over the past 24 months and is currently home to 18,741 manufacturing jobs.
