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Report: More Ohio women owners to hire
By Karl Henkel
YOUNGSTOWN
More Ohio women business owners plan to hire workers in the near future, according to a report released this week by Pittsburgh-based PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.
About 26 percent of Ohio women business owners plan to add employees this year, compared with the nationwide average of 15 percent, and at least 60 percent of Ohio owners expect their full-time employment rates to remain steady.
“It wasn’t so surprising, but affirming, because we do know that women-owned business are growing at a fairly rapid pace,” said Beth Marcello, director of women’s business development at PNC.
Marcello said women-owned business in states such as Ohio and Michigan are following the trends of the improving auto industry, one reason for their increased levels of success.
“In Ohio, there are many parts and manufacturers who serve the auto industry,” she said. “Women are operating in that economy and hiring more because the overall Ohio economy is picking back up.”
Kelly Amen, vice president of media relations for PNC, said Ohioans, in general, are more confident in the local economy than the national scope.
Statistically, Ohio has been better when it comes to jobs compared with the rest of the nation, at least for the last few months. Ohio’s unemployment rate has consistently bested national figures.
In June, the most recent month for both national and state unemployment figures, 8.8 percent of Ohioans were unemployed compared with 9.2 percent nationwide.
But a handful of Mahoning Valley businesswomen contacted by The Vindicator, including Christina Pawlosky, owner of The Pet Connection, 4351 E. Market St. in Warren, were less optimistic.
“I live very close to many manufacturing facilities that have closed down,” she said. “With the losses at Packard, even though they are still there, wages are much less. I’m glad [General Motors Co.] Lordstown stayed, but how long can that last?”
Women-owned businesses account for $3 trillion in economic impact in America, according to data from the Center for Women’s Business Research. In Ohio, 1 in 10 businesses are women-owned; in the Mahoning Valley, that number is 1 in 5.
Ohio women business owners were found to use an array of funding sources, including business credit cards, personal savings and credit cards, lines of credit and business loans, according to the report.
“You often hear about women being debt averse,” Marcello said. “In order to simulate the growth of women-owned business, they’re really going to have to tap into lines of credit.”
Marcello also said that positive economic sentiments could mean business growth.
“I think it would stand to reason that if women are feeling good about their business and if the state is getting stronger and more business-friendly, their take on the regional economy would grow as well,” she said. “I’d expect to see continued growth because women haven’t been in the business of running their own businesses for that many years.”