Northeast Ohio Economy Following National Trends: Showing Signs of Improvement

11/15/2010

NORTHEAST OHIO ECONOMY FOLLOWING NATIONAL TRENDS:
SHOWING SIGNS OF IMPROVEMENT
Team NEO Report Provides Holistic View of 16-County Regional Economy

                                                                        

CLEVELAND, November 15, 2010 — Team NEO released third quarter regional economic indicators today in its quarterly Cleveland Plus Economic Review. The report shows that Northeast Ohio (the Plus region) is showing signs of economic improvement as the 16-county regional economy closely tracks the U.S. and experiences employment gains.

Specifically, the region saw declines in the unemployment rate, increases in total employment by more than 80,000 jobs, or 4% since Q1 2010 and a decline in both new and continuing unemployment claims. The Gross Regional Product is projected to grow by 3.6% in 2010.

Moreover, while in previous recessions, the Plus region has experienced more severe declines in employment than the U.S., through 12 quarters of the current recession, the Plus region is tracking the same.

Since January 2010, Northeast Ohio has seen employment growth in its two largest sectors. Manufacturing employment grew by nearly 5% between January and September of 2010, while service sector employment is up more than 3%.

Supporting statistics include:
• NEO Employment Increases in Q3 
    o Q3 2010 saw a year over year increase of 22,000 jobs. In addition, there was an increase from Q2 to Q3 2010 of approximately 23,000 jobs.

• Unemployment Rate Follows National Trend 
    o Northeast Ohio unemployment rate of 9.9% is the same as the State of Ohio, with the U.S. at 9.5% but mirroring trend lines
• Recession Employment Comparison 
    o In comparing the Employment from the 1981 recession to the current recession, Northeast Ohio is tracking the same as the U.S.
• Manufacturing and Services Jobs Grow 
    o Since the beginning of 2010, Manufacturing employment has increased by nearly 10,000 jobs and Services employment has increased by almost 40,000 jobs
• Unemployment Claims Similar to Pre-Recession Levels 
    o Initial unemployment claims return to pre-recession levels, and the lowest since June, 2008 
    o Continued claims are at the lowest point since October, 2008
• NEO Gross Regional Product (GRP) Projected to Grow Faster Than the U.S. 
    o According to Moody’s economy.com, GRP for the region in 2010 is estimated to grow 3.6%, quicker than the U.S. with a projection of 2.7%

Team NEO publishes the Cleveland Plus Economic Review quarterly to provide a holistic picture of Northeast Ohio’s economy. It is the only regular source of collective economic data for the 16-county region. The non-profit organization uses the information to attract new businesses and jobs to the Cleveland Plus region.

Team NEO uses Moody’s economy.com data, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Ohio’s Labor Marketing Information to aggregate regional figures.

Team NEO advances Northeast Ohio’s economy by attracting businesses worldwide to the 16-county Cleveland Plus region. The organization is a joint venture of the region's largest metro chambers of commerce. Since 2007, the organization has attracted 36 new company expansions or relocations, 3,200 new jobs and $100M in annual payroll to Northeast Ohio, leading to a total annual regional payroll benefit of $260M.
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For additional information, contact:

Nina Holliday

216.363.5428 (o)

216.218.6462 (c)

nholliday@teamneo.org

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