Q2 2023 ECONOMIC UPDATE
THE COLUMBUS REGION
The Columbus Region is a dynamic 11-county metropolitan area in the midst of unprecedented economic growth. The Region is home to today’s leaders and is at the forefront of the industries of tomorrow, from advanced manufacturing to smart mobility research and development.
Delaware Fairfield Franklin Knox
Licking Logan Madison Marion
Morrow Pickaway Union
BUSINESS ORIENTED OPEN
SMART
Q2 ECONOMIC INSIGHTS
Labor Force
In May 2023, 9 out of the 11 counties in the Columbus Region had recovered all of the labor force lost during the pandemic.
Housing Costs
Home prices began to stabilize relative to the area median income, helping to reverse a trend of declining affordability of homes in the area relative to the median income.
HOUSING OPPORTUNITY INDEX – % HOMES AFFORDABLE
Source:
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pre-pandemic
Unemployment Rate Labor force: fully recovered compared to pre-pandemic levels Labor force: not fully recovered compared to
levels
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, not seasonally adjusted, Data from May 2023
COLUMBUS REGION 2.98% 1,199,043 MARION 3.19% 27,735 LOGAN 2.81% 23,206 UNION 2.64% 30,932 MORROW 3.14% 17,325 KNOX 2.89% 31,795 DELAWARE 2.71% 118,175 LICKING 2.91% 93,921 FRANKLIN 3.06% 724,887 PICKAWAY 3.05% 27,403 FAIRFIELD 2.95% 82,103 MADISON 2.78% 21,561
National Association of Home Builders, Q1 2023
100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Q1-19 Q3-19 Q1-20 Q3-20 Q1-21 Q3-21 Q1-22 Q3-22 Q2-19 Q4-19 Q2-20 Q4-20 Q2-21 Q4-21 Q2-22 Q4-22Q1-23 Indianapolis COLUMBUS Raleigh Austin
ECONOMIC INSIGHTS
Consumer Credit
The percentage of the Columbus metro population with a subprime credit score has remained extremely low compared to prepandemic levels, indicating that consumers are still stable despite inflation and high interest rates. However, starting in 2022 there has been an uptick in delinquency rates, which could be an indicator of future credit score trends.
PERCENT OF COLUMBUS MSA POPULATION WITH CREDIT HISTORY THAT HAS SUBPRIME SCORE
U.S. DELINQUENCY RATE ON CONSUMER LOANS, ALL COMMERCIAL BANKS
4 Q2
Sources: Federal Reserve Bank of New York and St. Louis
28% 27% 26% 25% 24% 23% 22% 21% 20% 3.0% 2.5% 2.0% 1.5% 1.0% 0.5% 0.0% 2018 2018 2019 2019 2020 2020 2021 2021 2022 2022 2023 2023
Engineering Work Force
The Columbus area ranks #5 among all U.S. large metros for the number of engineering degrees conferred by colleges within 200 miles (3-hour drive), with 27,933 degrees awarded in 2021.
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT
Construction Work Force
The Columbus area ranks #1 among all U.S. large metros for construction trade degrees conferred by colleges within 200 miles (3-hour drive), with 1,144 degrees awarded in 2021. Between May 2022 and May 2023, the number of Columbus-area construction jobs rose from 48,600 to 54,700, more than all other U.S. cities except New York and Dallas.
Source: Lightcast, total non-distance degrees, associates and above, BLS, https://www.dispatch.com/story/business/2023/07/07/ columbus-trails-only-dallas-and-new-york-in-construction-job-growth/70384785007/
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MD COLUMBUS, OH COLUMBUS, OH Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Chicago-Naperville-Elgin,
Pittsburgh, PA Washington-Arlington-Alexandria,
Louisville/Jefferson
KY-IN Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY 1,144 1,095 1,076 964 940 904 904 904 842 822 38,783 33,158 30,847 29,405 27,933
AWARDED WITHIN 200 MILES DEGREES AWARDED WITHIN 200 MILES
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Baltimore-Columbia-Towson,
IL-IN-WI
DC-VA-MD-WV
County,
DEGREES
ACTIVE PIPELINE
Advanced Manufacturing
The One Columbus project pipeline remains strong, fueled largely by growth in advanced manufacturing and the green economy.
International Opportunities
Mega-Projects
The average project would add $157 million in total fixed investment to the Region compared to an average of only $56 million five years ago.
are international, with 14,001 potential jobs created 14%
are high-impact projects (over 500 jobs or $500 million in investment)
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Active pipeline
end
Q2
Source note:
at
of
(June 30, 2023)
Japan 17 projects South Korea 8 projects Germany 7 projects China 7 projects
pipeline is semiconductor related
automotive
of pipeline is related
EVs, solar, or battery storage
of
of
projects are EV related
to
27% 15%
52%
73%
Q2 PROJECT ANNOUNCEMENTS
13 $8B $70M
wins
total fixed investment
1,086
total jobs created
total jobs created payroll
Breakdown by Facility Type
Total jobs and jobs created payroll for each facility type:
Data Center: 230; $20,700,000
HQ/Office: 175; $17,570,851
L&D: 566; $24,829,979
Manufacturing: 115; $6,826,000
Source: One Columbus, Projects announced April 1, 2023 - June 30, 2023 One Columbus project announcements only; does not encompass all market activity
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31% Manufacturing: 4 8% Data Center: 1
L&D: 4 31% HQ/Office: 4
31%
Amazon Web Services
Amazon Web Services (AWS) will invest an estimated $7.8 billion by the end of 2029 to expand its data center operations in Central Ohio, creating hundreds of new jobs. The new data centers will contain computer servers, data storage drives, networking equipment, and other forms of technology infrastructure used to power cloud computing.
The Romanoff Group
From North Carolina to Texas to Alaska, the Romanoff Group has been expanding at an astounding rate since its founding in 1992- but Gahanna is home. Thanks to the company’s success and growing demand in the specialized electrical and heating & cooling services industry, the time is right for additional expansion. With a $1.25 million investment, Romanoff Group is increasing their footprint in Gahanna and boosting jobs at their HQ by more than 40%.
INEOS Enterprises
INEOS Enterprises, a global chemical company and division of INEOS Group, has chosen to make the Columbus Region the home of their North American headquarters. The $24.5 million investment will create a 65,000 square foot laboratory in Dublin and develop another location in Grandview Heights for office administration, creating 50 new jobs.
Sofidel
In 2016, Sofidel, one of the leading manufacturers of paper for hygienic and domestic use worldwide, committed to employing 300 Ohioans— under a proposed expansion of their Circleville facility, that number could grow to nearly 600. Since opening their facility in 2018, production of their product has nearly tripled, and they are looking to invest $185 million to expand by 500,000 square feet at their Circleville facility.
8 PROJECT
WINS
Pioneer Development
Pioneer Development, a commercial and residential real estate development and investment firm, announced plans to build a 55,000 square-foot multi-tenant flex and warehouse space in Marysville, investing $7.980 million. The new facility will target suppliers for Honda, Scotts, Intel, and other large manufacturing, automotive, and agribusiness companies nearby, as well as rapidly growing electronic vehicle and smart mobility technology development and testing activities along the 33 Smart Mobility Corridor.
Lake Shore Cryotronics
Lake Shore Cryotronics, a Westerville-based manufacturer of sensors, scientific instruments, and systems for cryogenic and magnetic applications, announced a significant expansion of its Westerville facility, investing nearly $14 million into the location. Lake Shore plans to add approximately 42,000 square feet of manufacturing space and 10,000 square feet of office space to its existing 59,000-square-foot building. Additionally, Lake Shore will construct a new 2,500-square-foot clean room within its existing manufacturing facility.
Smith Lane Properties
Smith Lane Properties, a private real estate investment and development firm focusing on developing Class A projects in prime industrial markets throughout the United States, announced that it is investing more than $26 million into a new industrial facility in Madison County. The company is a grant recipient from JobsOhio’s Ohio Site Inventory Program (OSIP), which focuses on speculative site and building development projects.
Ohio Steel Industries
Ohio Steel Industries, a Columbus-based steel and plastics manufacturer, announced plans to expand its operations in the Columbus Region with a 35,000-square-foot facility in Delaware, investing $7.2 million for the new facility, equipment, and machinery. With this investment, the company will add 52 jobs including supervisors, rail operators, laborers, QC auditors, and extrusion operators.
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STRATEGIC INITIATIVES
Across the Columbus Region, public, private, and academic partners are working to inclusively grow our region through important and strategic initiatives.
Girl Scouts Break Ground on STEM Leadership Center and Maker Space
In May, the Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland broke ground on a $16 million facility designed to attract more girls to careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The almost 25,000-square-foot center, located at Camp Ken-Jockety in Galloway, Ohio, will include science and technology labs, community space, a greenhouse, a maker space for welding, mechanics, and carpentry, outdoor learning spaces, and more. Companies such as Battelle, American Electric Power, Cardinal Health, Bath & Body Works, the M/I Homes Foundation, and the Nationwide Foundation invested millions of dollars into the center. The Columbus Partnership also successfully advocated for Congressman Mike Carey to allocate Congressionally Directed Spending funds to the center.
Major League Soccer 2024 All-Star Game to Be Hosted by Columbus Crew
For the first time in 19 years, the Major League Soccer All-Star Game is returning to Columbus. In addition to the match, the Crew and City of Columbus plan to host a week-long celebration of soccer and culture with concerts, community programming, fan events, and additional soccer competitions. Columbus previously hosted the All-Star Game in 2000 and 2005, but 2024 marks the first time the match will be held at the new Lower.com Field.
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Columbus
Named Workforce Hub by the White House
In May, the White House announced that Columbus had been named one of five Workforce Hubs as a part of a new presidential initiative designed to connect American workers to jobs and meet growing workforce demands. Each hub centers on a specific industry, with the Columbus Region focusing on clean energy, transportation, and semiconductor manufacturing. Columbus was named a Workforce Hub primarily for its partnership with Intel, whose multi-billion dollar investment in Licking County is expected to bring 20,000 new jobs to the state of Ohio.
Congresswoman Joyce Beatty and Congressman Mike Carey Announce the Re-Launch of the Congressional Civility Caucus
Congresswoman Joyce Beatty and Congressman Mike Carey announced in April that they are relaunching the Congressional Civility and Respect Caucus. Originally established by Congresswoman Beatty and former Congressman Steve Stivers, the bipartisan Caucus’ goal is to encourage all Members of Congress to act with civility and respect in their political discourse. The re-launch was officially announced at a panel discussion hosted by the Columbus Partnership, where Beatty and Carey spoke to CEOs from Columbus’ leading businesses and institutions about the importance of bringing civil discourse back into politics.
U.S. Conference of Mayors Hosted in Columbus
At the beginning of June, mayors from across the country flocked to Columbus for the 91st U.S. Conference of Mayors. The four-day conference focused on bringing together leaders from the public and private sectors to discuss solutions to some of the most pressing issues facing American cities today, including public safety, mental health, immigration, infrastructure, and climate change.
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columbusregion.com 07-23
