JobsOhio Partners: Innovation Districts & Port Authorities

Key Economic Insights

• Global: Supply-chain bottlenecks are impacting the economy recovery.
• U.S.: Continuing jobless claims fell to their lowest level since the beginning of the pandemic.
• Ohio: JobsOhio announced new initiatives with 1) Ohio’s investment grade port authorities to boost bond capacity throughout Ohio, and, 2) the Lightship Foundation, which empowers minority-led entrepreneurs, which is establishing its HQ headquarters in the Cincinnati Innovation District.

Global Insights

Supply bottlenecks curbed economic growth in the Euro zone’s manufacturing sector to a six-month low in October.  Eurozone Manufacturing Flash PMI fell in September, marking an 8-month low. Euro area consumer confidence also weakened in October.  China’s GDP grew 4.9% in Q3 of 2021, below the 5.1% growth forecast and slowing sharply from the Q2 growth rate of 7.9%.  Japan’s trade balance posted a deficit of $5.4B in September.  Auto exports fell 40% on an annualized basis as automakers continued to cut production due to a shortage of semiconductors and difficulty in procuring parts.  48.7% of the world population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

U.S. Insights

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index (LEI) for the U.S. increased by 0.2% in September, following a 0.8% increase in August.  Continuing jobless claims fell to their lowest level since the pandemic began, dropping to 2.48M, a decline of 122,000 from the previous week.  Over 65.5% of the U.S. population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 56.7% is fully vaccinated.

Industrial production fell 1.3% in September, and manufacturing output decreased 0.7%. Capacity utilization for the industrial sector fell to 75.2%, marking the third consecutive month of decline. Production of motor vehicles and parts fell 7.2%, as shortages of semiconductors continued to impact operations.  IHS Markit’s Manufacturing flash PMI declined to 59.2 from 60.7 in September, coming in below expectations for a reading of 60.3. U.S. crude and fuel inventories tightened further.  Homebuilder confidence rose 4 points to 80 in October according to the NAHB Housing Market Index. Demand and home sales remained strong, but builders continued to face ongoing supply chain disruptions and labor shortages that delayed completion times and put upward pressure on building material and home prices.

Ohio Employment & Economic Insights

Newly announced corporate expansions include Legrand North America (adding 261 positions in Union), Divisions Maintenance Group (adding 256 jobs in downtown Cincinnati), and EPC Columbia (adding 50 jobs in Lebanon), among others.  Governor DeWine and Lt. Governor Husted joined the Cincinnati Innovation District, JobsOhio and REDI Cincinnati to unveil District expansion as Lightship Foundation announced a new HQ, accelerating minority-led business attraction to Ohio.  The Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport is slated to see more than $11M in investment, with the majority of that money aiding the greater Dayton regional efforts of building up air mobility technology that could have a $13B in economic impact in Ohio.  CBS News profiled the new “Glass City River Wall” in Toledo.

Ohio’s unemployment rate was 5.4% in September 2021, unchanged from August.  Nonagricultural wage and salary employment increased 9,900 over the month. In September, the labor force participation rate in Ohio was 61.1%, up from 60.8% in August 2021.  Over 6.44M Ohioans have started the COVID-19 vaccination process, marking 64.4% of the population currently eligible.

Positive Company-Specific News

• Anheuser-Busch will invest $20M at its Columbus brewery to increase capacity and capabilities, modify an existing bottle line to accommodate packaging, and produce more of its innovations outside of beer.
• BIT Mining increased its investment in the Ohio cryptocurrency mining data center to add up to 65MW of power capacity, bringing the Ohio Mining Site’s total planned power capacity up to 150MW.
• Velocity announced the completion of its 20K SF Enterprise Solutions Center at the corporate campus located in Holland; will house ~200 employees.
• SPR Therapeutics raised $37M to speed the market rollout of its electrical pain treatment device designed to avoid the use of addictive opioids.
• Drips received an investment from Blue Venture Fund to accelerate the growth of its conversational texting technology in the health care market.
• Battle Sight Technologies received $100,000 from the Ohio Third Frontier Technology Validation and Start-up Fund to develop and commercialize the company’s infrared signal technology.
• Grote announced the acquisition of Iowa-based Precision Food Innovations, a manufacturer of bulk material handling and conveying equipment for the food processing and packaging industries.
• Amazon is looking to hire more than 2,000 seasonal workers in Ohio as it prepares for holiday-fueled demand.

Resources

• Ohio Department of Health’s COVID-19 Website: coronavirus.ohio.gov
• JobsOhio’s information about Open, Secure Supply Chains in Ohio