Ohio manufacturing employment increased for the sixth straight year, according to new data collected by Manufacturers' News Inc. (MNI). MNI reports the state added 5,217 new jobs between September 2016 and September 2017, which was more than twice the number of jobs the state gained over the 2015-2016 survey period.
Ohio’s 16,279 manufacturers currently employ 894,788 in the state. Since September of 2011, manufacturers in Ohio have added jobs at a steady clip, though the state’s industrial jobs level remains 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,” said Tom Dubin, MNI president. “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. 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 percent 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.
The state’s industrial economy appears to have strengthened across multiple sectors, with solid gains reported in stone/clay/glass, chemical processing, rubber/plastics and furniture/fixtures. Food processing and fabricated metals each gained 1 percent, while employment in the industrial machinery sector, the state’s top sector by number of industrial jobs, rose 1/2 percent.
Employment was mostly stable across all remaining industries, with small decreases noted in textiles/apparel and primary metals.
Some of the major operations behind Ohio’s employment gains included Chinese manufacturer Fuyao Glass, which established the world’s largest automotive glass manufacturing facility at an idled General Motors plant in Moraine. Recleim also opened an appliance recycling facility in Lima, while Dana Inc. broke ground on an axle manufacturing plant in Toledo. Major expansions included Johnson Electric’s Vandalia plant and Amcor Rigid Plastics’ packaging facility in Bellevue.
Manufacturing locations closing in Ohio over the past year included Columbus Castings, which shuttered its Columbus foundry, and Elyria’s 3M plant.
Cincinnati ranked first in the state for the number of manufacturing jobs with 71,775 workers. Jobs remained steady at 57,021 in second-ranked Cleveland, but declined 2.6 percent to 41,388 in third-ranked Columbus.
For more information, visit www.mni.net.
