Mahoning Valley’s growth in jobs outpaces state’s

By Karl Henkel | February 3, 2012 at 12:10a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

For the first time in more than a decade, employment in the Mahoning Valley is not only growing but increasing faster than the rest of Ohio.

The 2.5 percent increase in jobs last year — behind only the metropolitan areas of Sandusky, Steubenville and Lima — marked the first time since 1999 that the area had any annual job growth.

Ohio overall grew at a 1.4 percent clip.

The Valley’s employment boost outpaced larger metro areas such as Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo and Columbus and quickly has earned itself the unofficial title of the comeback city.

What a comeback it has been.

Just 13 years ago, in 1999, the Valley had 253,700 jobs after a year of job expansion.

But for the next 11 years, the local economy lost jobs in varying amounts, the most devastating in 2009, when the Valley’s employment dropped by 13,500 jobs, or 5.8 percent.

That year, many employers cut back, none bigger than Severstal, which laid off about 1,200 workers at the time.

General Motors Lords-town at the time employed about half the work force it does today.

Employment dropped all the way to 222,000 by the end of 2010 before the local economy added 5,600 jobs in 2011, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Valley’s turnaround has been a surprise to many outsiders, said Cleveland-based economist George Zeller, who keeps tabs on Ohio’s metro areas and gives speeches throughout the state.

“The people are astonished, by and large,” he said. “But it’s true.

“The question is why? It’s related to the success of the manufacturing growth initiatives.”

Yes, the same sector in which the Valley purged jobs for the past decade — and for the better part of the last four decades — is the No. 1 reason for its rejuvenation.

“We are benefiting from a manufacturing renaissance for sure,” said U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th. “But, with the business incubator in Youngstown and the Tech Belt Energy Innovation Center in Warren, we are diversifying our economic base so we are not reliant on one industry like we were when steel collapsed.”

For both reasons, many on the national stage are taking note.

Eric Planey, vice president of international business attraction for the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, said the area was singled out in recent meetings in New York with those in the banking and finance world for its rapid job growth, particularly in the manufacturing sector.

The national media also have shown an interest.

CNN, MSNBC and the Associated Press, among others, have detailed the Valley’s surge, pointing to the Utica and Marcellus shale natural-resource play.

But Planey also pointed to GM Lordstown, now up to three shifts, five days a week, the growth of TMK IPSCO, V&M Star construction workers and VXI Global Solutions as local businesses that have grown in the past year or two.

He expects the northward employment trend to continue this year as companies such as Anderson-Dubose Inc., Mom’s Meals and V&M Star open facilities and ramp up hiring.

“We tend to latch on to a comeback and turnaround story,” Planey said Thursday. “I think it’s great that we are the shining example of what manufacturing could be.”