Youngstown Leads the Nation
Posted by Chris Thompson - 09.20.2010
Lately I've been pointing out the success the Cleveland metro area is having at adding manufacturing jobs during the meager economic recovery. This month came some more encouraging news -- Youngstown is tops in the nation in manufacturing job growth.
According to a new report from the Brookings Institution, manufacturing job growth in the Youngstown metro leaped 8.9% in the second quarter of 2010, compared to the first quarter. Cleveland came in second out of the top 100 metros in the nation with 3% growth. And Akron was up 1.5%, 12th in the nation. The next economy is going to be fueled by manufacturing -- not housing. And Northeast Ohio is well positioned to take advantage of that dramatic change.
Brookings notes that the economy recover isn't yet changing the overall employment outlook and that the Great Lakes in general has a long way to go before we recover what was lost in the Great Recession. Yet, it is good to see Youngstown and the rest of Northeast Ohio at the front of the pack. Let's hope it continues.
The Fund for Our Economic Future is working with Brookings to highlight our region's economic strategies as part of an effort to encourage more federal support for regional eocnomic competitiveness efforts like Advance Northeast Ohio. Look for more on this work this winter.
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