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Mixed report shows Ohio getting boost from manufacturing
YOUNGSTOWN
The last year for the Ohio labor market has included a slow recovery with lower wages for those who are working.
There is a silver lining with manufacturing in the state, increasing three times faster than the overall economic recovery, said Amy Hanaeur, executive director of Policy Matters Ohio, which released its State of Working Ohio 2012 report.
Manufacturing has grown by 8.8 per- cent during the last 33 months. The main factor was durable-goods manufacturing, which includes appliances, cars and car parts. This segment added 47,600 positions, an 11.9 percent growth rate.
“The good news is that growth in durable-goods manufacturing tends to lead to jobs in other areas,” Hanaeur said. “These are good jobs with good pay.”
Increased manufacturing should lead to a better economic report next year, she said.
“Ohio typically is pulled out of recession by economic growth in manufacturing,” Hanaeur said.
Area manufacturers still are trying to hire more workers, said Jessica Borza, executive director of the Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition.
“It comes down to finding people with the right skills set,” she said.
Increased hiring is expected to continue throughout the remainder of the year with another spike at the beginning of 2013, Borza said.
In all industries, Ohio has added 59,000 jobs in the last 12 months, said George Zeller, a Cleveland-based economist.
“We’re recovering, but it’s very slow,” he said.
The current rate of recovery means it will take two years to reach the same number of jobs that existed in the state in 2007, Hanaeur said.
One of the negative aspects of the report is that the median wage is dropping across the state.
Ohio is now well below average in median wage — tied with Maine for 30th highest median wage among states, at $15.20 per hour.
The highest-earning states — in the $19 to $23 hourly range — all have high levels of bachelor-degree attainment, reasonable protection of collective bargaining and are diverse Northeastern economies with large urban centers, according to the report.
“Those of us that are working are receiving lower wages,” Zeller said. “In the last year Ohio has lost $6.5 million in earnings.”
This has occurred while the state is adding jobs, meaning those who are working are receiving lower pay, he said.
Typically when economic recovery occurs, median wages rise in correlation, but that is not happening, Hanaeur said.
“Median wages are going to have to start going up for Ohio families to start benefiting,” she said.
Local government cuts are the segment having the most impact on slowing the state’s economic recovery, Hanauer said.
Typically the government increases spending to help boost a slowly recovering economy, Zeller said.
“In this case we’re doing the exact opposite. We’re doing the same thing Europe is, and look at the shape they’re in,” he said.
There have been 18,606 jobs lost in the last year in local government statewide, mainly at local school districts, Zeller said. The state also lost 1,582 federal government jobs and 2,009 state positions.
Ohio is losing labor force with more than 182,000 people no longer seeking work since 2007. It’s the lowest number of people the state has had in the labor force since 1985.
There is now a smaller percentage of males in the Ohio work force than at any time in state history, Hanaeur said. The reduction is the result of the recession hitting hard in male-dominated fields such as manufacturing and construction.
It is difficult to get back into the work force after being laid off for six months or more, so a lot of men have dropped out completely, she said.
“With more women in the work force, families are choosing to do things in a different way than they have in the past with the father staying at home,” Hanauer said.