JobsOhio Reports 2022 Was ‘Year of Profound Impact’

COLUMBUS, Ohio – JobsOhio says 2022 was a year of resilience and growth that it hails as “a year of profound impact” in its 2022 annual report released Wednesday.

The economic development agency posted 296 “project wins” in 2022, which bring the promise of 26,323 new jobs. These projects are estimated to generate corporate capital project investments of nearly $31 billion, tripling the previous record of $9.56 billion set in 2017, according to the annual report.

In addition, new jobs committed in 2022 are higher paying and will generate a record $1.84 billion in new payrolls, which will deliver a record $954 million in new annual payroll tax receipts to the Ohio treasury, the report says.

And Ohio jumped to No. 2 from No. 11 nationally in “megaproject impact” by securing investment commitments from Intel, Ford, Honda/LG Energy Solution and Medpace.

“Ohio has one of the most diverse state economies in the U.S. and is diversifying at a faster pace than the rest of the Midwest, making it better positioned to weather economic headwinds,” say Robert C. Smith, JobsOhio board chairman, and J.P. Nauseef, president and CEO, in a joint letter that introduces the annual report. “The capital investments secured in 2022 accelerated this trend, and more opportunities are coming.”

More than a dozen megaprojects “are in active discussions,” they say, and “four of these projects could bring more than 1,000 jobs each.”

Statewide, Ohio gained more than 83,000 private-sector jobs in 2022, and average unemployment fell to 4.0%, according to the annual report.

The agency has outlined four strategic initiatives for 2023 under the banners of sites, talent, inclusion and innovation.

READ the full report.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.