Employment in the 16-county region was up by nearly 40,000 jobs during the first quarter, when compared to a year before. That marked the first local first-quarter employment jump since 2007, according an analysis of federal statistics by Team NEO.
A job fair in Independence attracts area jobless in May. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Northeast Ohio's economy is driving faster and gradually picking up jobs, according to a report due out today.
Employment in the 16-county region was up by nearly 40,000 jobs during the first quarter, compared with a year before. That marked the first local first-quarter employment jump since 2007, according an analysis of federal statistics by Team NEO.
The business-attraction group portrays a healthier -- though still recovering -- local economy in its quarterly update.
And after a slow start to the year, Team NEO saw more interest from out-of-state and international companies during March and April. Tom Waltermire, the group's chief executive, said his staff is chasing opportunities in the auto-parts industry, customer service, solar-components and wind power, in addition to a steady stream of biomedical prospects.
"So far this year, the highest percentage of new, qualified leads that we're working on is biomedical and advanced energy," he said in an interview.
The regional service industry has added 19,000 jobs, growing by 1.6 percent from the first quarter of 2010. Manufacturing added 5,900 jobs. And construction bounced back as work started on large projects including a new convention center and medical mart in downtown Cleveland.
The region's economy expanded last year, the first such annual improvement since 2005. Gross regional product, the market value of all goods and services produced here, rose 1.9 percent, to approximately $172 billion.
That number could jump by 2.5 percent this year -- to a near-record level - with the manufacturing economy growing at more than twice that rate, according to a Team NEO analysis of projections from Moody's Economy.com.
Still, Northeast Ohio's engine is chugging along more slowly than the nation's. The U.S. economy grew 2.8 percent last year and could expand by 3.2 percent this year, according to Economy.com.
First-quarter unemployment here was 9.6 percent, mirroring the state but slightly above the nation's 9.5 percent joblessness rate.
In March, the national unemployment rate fell to 9.2 percent. The region's dropped to 9 percent, the recent low point for local unemployment claims, with initial requests for benefits dwindling to pre-recession levels.