News & Press
Ohio Achieves Innovation Excellence
This report is a summary of third-party economic research and perspectives to foster communication with business and economic development stakeholders.
Key Economic Insights
- Ohio: Six Ohio universities made the NAI’s Top 100 list for patents granted. An Ohio State emeritus professor has won the 2023 Nobel Prize in physics. Recently approved projects are expected to create 332 new jobs and spur $426M in investment across the state.
- U.S.: Payrolls soared by 336,000 in September. Unemployment and GDP remained unrevised at 3.8% and 2.1%, respectively.
Ohio Employment & Economic Insights
The Ohio Tax Credit Authority approved assistance for six economic development projects in September. Collectively, the projects are expected to create 332 new jobs earning over $27M in payroll, retain 926 jobs, and spur nearly $426M in investments across the state. Ohio’s minimum wage will increase from $10.10 an hour for non-tipped employees to $10.45 an hour beginning Jan. 1, 2024. The Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks, in central and southern Ohio, have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Two EV battery recycling companies with a presence in Ohio, Cirba Solutions and Nth Cycle, have each won $250,000 research grants from the US DOE's Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office jointly with Argonne National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, respectively. The Central Ohio Transit Authority and the Columbus Regional Airport Authority have broken ground on a “mobility center” near Rickenbacker International Airport. The $24.3M center will provide childcare, food pantry, and shared space for workforce training and community gatherings for the area that employs 38,000.
The National Academy of Inventors’ 2022 Top 100 U.S. Universities Granted U.S. Utility Patents list includes six Ohio universities: Case Western Reserve University (#24), The Ohio State University (#29T), University of Cincinnati (#72T), The University of Akron (#86T), Ohio University (#91T), and The University of Toledo (#100T). The Ohio State University ranked in the top 100 for the first time in The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024, improving to 36th among U.S. institutions. Ohio State University emeritus professor, Pierre Agostini is part of a trio that have won the 2023 Nobel Prize in physics
Ohio Company News
- Diné Development Corporation plans to hire 100 as the IT services company expands in Dayton.
- Ohio Ordnance Works expects to create 70 jobs as part of a $14.7M, 35,000 SF expansion in Chardon.
- Viega intends to invest $178M in a production and distribution facility in Shalersville, employing 68.
- G & J Pepsi-Cola Bottlers expects to create 44 new jobs as part of an expansion in Columbus.
- Curiosity plans to add 32 positions at a new $3.3M HQ in Cincinnati.
- AVT Beckett Elevators has announced the relocation of its Memphis, TN manufacturing facility to Logan. The 48,000 SF building will initially employ at least 20.
- Aligned Data Centers is planning a new $202M hyperscale data center campus on a 129-acre brownfield redevelopment site in Sandusky. Aligned plans to hire 18 at the new site.
- Ganymede Technologies intends to invest $150,000 and hire 4 new employees in Bucyrus.
- RPM International has acquired the Texas-based wall system fabrication segment of NOW Specialties.
- Grippo, in Cincinnati, has acquired Ballreich Snack Foods in Tiffin, with plans to increase capacity and jobs.
- Bright Innovation Labs plans to more than double its New Albany beauty care manufacturing facility.
- Enable Injections has received FDA approval for the EMPAVELI Injector (enFuse), the company’s first.
- Cleveland Clinic has announced its next phase of the Cleveland Innovation District, two new state-of-the-art research facilities, totaling approximately 296,000 SF, which will be home to the Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Global Center for Pathogen Research and Human Health.
- Paradigm, HQ’d in Columbus, has announced a collaboration with Bristol Myers Squib to build a new end-to-end clinical trial operating model across design, recruitment, and data collection.
- Standard Power plans to install a NuScale Power small modular reactor to power its Coshocton data center. The facility, with another in Pennsylvania, will receive a combined 1,848 MW of power from 24 units.
- National Grid Renewables has announced the start of operations at Amazon Solar Farm Ohio – Yellowbud, a 274 MW solar project in Ross and Pickaway counties.
U.S. Insights
Total non-farm payroll employment increased by 336,000 in September, far more than expected, pushing bond yields to a 16-year high. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.8%. U.S job openings totaled 9.6M in August, up nearly 700,000 from July. Total separations increased to 5.7M, with quits (3.6M) remaining stable and layoffs and discharges (1.7M) changing little from the previous month. Weekly jobless claims increased by 2,000 to 207,000 during the week ending September 30. Continuing claims declined by 1,000 to 1.664M in the week ending September 23.
U.S. GDP growth remained unchanged at 2.1% in the second quarter, in-line with economists' expectations. Durable goods orders rose 0.2% in August following downward revisions in July’s data. ISM Manufacturing PMI rose to 49.0 in September, up from 47.6 in August, which marks the eleventh consecutive month of contraction in manufacturing. Construction spending increased 0.5% in August after rising 0.9% in July. ISM Services PMI slipped to 53.6 in September from 54.5 in August as new orders fell to a nine-month low.
The core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, which excludes volatile food and energy components rose a less-than-expected 0.1% in August to a 3.9% annualized rate. Consumer spending increased 0.4% last month, which was down sharply from 0.9% in July. The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index declined to 103.0 in September, down from an upwardly revised 108.7 in August. The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index declined slightly to 68.1 in September, down from 69.5 in August. Despite this decline, sentiment was 16% higher than the same time last year.
For more information, contact:
Matthew Ellerbrock & Summer McVicker, JobsOhio Research