PERRYSBURG – The
national and regional economies are slowly climbing out of the effects of the Great
Recession.And, while bringing employment back to pre-recession levels will take a
number of years, Northwest Ohio nevertheless has a number of tools in its arsenal.This
was the message as more than 350 regional dignitaries, economic developers and others
gathered for the 10th annual State of the Region Conference, hosted by Bowling Green
State University’s Center for Regional Development Monday morning.The event was held at
the Hilton Garden Inn at Levis Commons."We’re not at the bottom any more,"
said Michael Carroll, director of the CRD, who delivered the State of the Region
Address.Between 2007 and 2009, he said, the region lost 30,000 jobs, including 11,000
manufacturing jobs. While the region’s unemployment figures reached 13 percent in 2009,
they are now down to 9.3 percent – still above the state unemployment rate of 7.6
percent, and the national rate of 8.3 percent. However, both Wood and Lucas Counties
have increased jobs by approximately 4.5 percent since 2009.With the recession
officially over, Northwest Ohio’s unemployment numbers are returning to a status
quo."So we’re kind of back to the pattern we’ve been seeing for the last 15 to 20
years," Carroll explained.He noted that total recovery from the effects of the
recession is not expected to be fast in coming."We’re looking at recovery in the
Toledo MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) of about 15 years" to return to
pre-recession employment levels at the current rate of growth, Carroll said.This year,
industries statewide that have been most affected by layoffs are the sales, office work,
production, and transportation sectors, in which 400 or more jobs have been lost so far
this year. And manufacturing will to continue to shrink – in Northwest Ohio Region 2,
meaning areas roughly north of Hancock County, jobs in that sector are expected to
shrink by 15 percent through 2018.However, in that same time, commercial construction
jobs are expected to grow by 11.5 percent, healthcare and social assistance jobs should
grow by 21 percent, and professional and technical services jobs are to increase 22.5
percent.Taking a question from the audience, Carroll noted the "huge" issues
for the solar panel industry, saying "I would not want to be in the solar
industry" now because of concerns over subsidies from the government. The industry
is facing acute competition from China, which, he said, is investing billions of
government dollars into each of their own solar corporations."And I don’t see that
changing any time soon."In his remarks, Jonathan Gemmen, a corporate site selector
with Austin Consulting in Cleveland, singled the CSX Intermodal Terminal in North
Baltimore out as among a handful of promising sites in the region, terming it "a
world-class facility.""It’s going to have a big regional
impact."Another such site was the Eastwood Commerce Center, located in Troy
Township, which he predicted would see development within the next five
years."It’s got it all right there," he said of the resources at the
location, including nearby water, sewer, electrical, natural gas, and rail
accessibility."Not many other sites in the country can compete with this," he
said.While Gemmen did note that areas of economic growth are pushing south from Toledo,
it could be limited by the fact that there are few major travel routes other than
Interstate 75 south of Lucas County.Site Selection Magazine Managing Editor Adam Bruns
noted Ohio’s selection by their publication in 2011 for the "Governor’s Cup"
award, recognizing the states with the most corporate facilities. Ohio has 494 such
locations.Speaking earlier, BGSU President Mary Ellen Mazey highlighted a new visioning
process between the university and the city of Bowling Green. "We want to be known
across the country for the work and the partnership and town-gown relationships,"
she said.She emphasized the importance of an education in producing the "workforce
of tomorrow, and that workforce is very different from what it was 20 and 30 years
ago." BGSU will continue to work on building enrollment and flexible curricula,
while also adopting other initiatives, including accelerated bachelor’s/master’s degree
programs, so that a student could earn both degrees in five years.In the event’s
keynote address, Jeff Thredgold, president of Thredgold Economic Associates, tackled a
number of economic themes and noted possibilities for the future.Fourteen years ago, he
said, the United States economy was being battered by Japan and Germany, and industries
went through a period of downsizing and "rightsizing" to compete. However, the
country has re-established its economic dominance in the world in the last decade.
Technology, transportation, telecommunications, financial services, energy,
entertainment, and biomedical sectors will be critical for the coming years. He singled
out health care, financial planning, and the leisure/entertainment industries as three
industries guaranteed to grow over the next 30 years.In 1992, he said, there were
essentially five public websites. Today, 65,000 websites go live online each minute. And
still we have tapped only 15 to 20 percent of the internet’s potential. He said that
over the next three years, global companies will increasingly flock to the internet to
reduce a number of costs, saving more than $1.25 trillion in the process.