Northeast Ohio gained 1,874 private-sector jobs in April, part of an uptick in the regional labor market that has seen employment grow by an estimated 3,431 jobs over the last 12 months, as tracked by the Ahola Crain’s Employment Report.
Jack Kleinhenz, the Cleveland Heights economist who created the ACE Report model, said the seasonally adjusted employment numbers suggest some optimism about a rebound in manufacturing employment, which has suffered in recent months.
The 0.12% increase in private-sector employment seen in the ACE analysis is comparable to an increase in the April ADP National Employment Report, which saw a modest increase nationally of 156,000 jobs from March to April. However, manufacturing employment declined nationally, according to the ADP report, while Northeast Ohio manufacturing employment in the seven county Cleveland-Akron area grew by 0.36%.
Longer term, according to the ACE analysis, manufacturing employment gained 1,580 jobs since April 2015, a 0.66% gain. Kleinhenz is optimistic that trend will continue.
“Manufacturing has been in a significant swoon that dates back to late 2014,” he said. “However, based on this month’s estimates, manufacturing employment is headed for at least a temporary improvement in the months ahead.”
Both the ACE and ADP data are derived from payroll data of client companies served, nationally by ADP LLC and regionally by The Ahola Corp., a Brecksville payroll and human services firm.
The economists at PNC Financial Services Group Inc., report in their second-quarter Northeast Ohio Market Outlook that manufacturing employment in its Northeast Ohio service area, which includes the Canton and Youngstown metropolitan areas in addition to Cleveland and Akron, would have been stronger had it not been for layoffs in metals production and the energy industry.
Those layoffs were due to competition from steel imports and the sharp decline in energy prices, which has reduced investment in oil and gas drilling in the region.
Looking back to before the recession, however, is a reminder that the region has shed thousands of jobs.
According to data compiled by the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services, the Cleveland and Akron metros have lost 62,400 jobs since employment peaked in 2006, before the recession.
The state agency’s data shows that regional employment averaged 1,398,600 during 2006 but has dropped, as of April, to 1,336,200.
Broken down, the Cleveland area has lost 47,000 workers since 2006, while Akron has lost 18,400 jobs.
| Month | Non-Farm | Small (1-49) | Mid-Sized (50+) | Goods-producing | Service Producing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept (Actual) | 1,164,804 | 473,914 | 690,890 | 215,278 | 949,526 |
| Oct (est.) | 1,164,798 | 473,762 | 691,036 | 217,419 | 947,379 |
| Nov (est.) | 1,161,764 | 472,667 | 689,097 | 214,861 | 946,903 |
| Dec (est.) | 1,164,131 | 473,645 | 690,486 | 215,080 | 949,051 |
| Jan (est.) | 1,163,766 | 473,498 | 690,268 | 214,997 | 948,769 |
| Feb (est.) | 1,165,793 | 474,378 | 691,415 | 214,576 | 951,217 |
| Mar (est.) | 1,165,950 | 474,430 | 691,519 | 214,767 | 951,183 |
| Apr (est.) | 1,167,824 | 475,197 | 692,628 | 215,062 | 952,762 |
May 27, 2016
By Jay Miller