Columbus Economy July 2022



Columbus economy July 2022

For the Columbus economy July 2022 report, we find several local industries in record high territory, but with a metro labor force that is barely growing. The data comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Overall Metro Area July 2022 and Change from July 2021
Labor Force: 1,136,345 +1,050
Employed: 1,093,966 +13,074
Unemployed: 42,379 -12,024
Unemployment Rate: 3.7% -1.1
Total Non-Farm Jobs: 1,126,200 +16,400
Numbers continued the trend of improvement year-over-year, but labor force growth remained relatively slow.

Overall Metro Area July 2022 and Change from February 2020 (Pre-Pandemic)
Labor Force: 1,136,345 +15,541
Employed: 1,093,966 +17,126
Unemployed: 42,379 -1,585
Unemployment Rate: 3.7% -0.2
Total Non-Farm Jobs: 1,126,200 +14,800
The overall metro area remained better in July than the last month prior to the pandemic.

Now let’s view the results by industry.

Mining/Logging/Construction
7/2020———–7/2021———-7/2022

45,200————46,800———48,200
These industries remain near their all-time highs for total metro jobs.
Mining/Logging/Construction Jobs as a % of Total Metro Jobs
7/2020————7/2021———7/2022

4.3——————4.2————–4.3

Manufacturing
7/2020———–7/2021———-7/2022

70,100———–72,700———-72,900
Manufacturing has largely recovered from pandemic losses, but remains well below historic highs achieved decades ago.
Manufacturing Jobs as a % of Total Metro Jobs
7/2020————7/2021———-7/2022

6.7——————6.6—————6.5

Trade/Transportation/Utilities
7/2020———–7/2021———-7/2022

215,000———-225,400———240,200
These industries are at historic highs.
Trade/Transportation/Utilities Jobs as a % of Total Metro Jobs
7/2020————7/2021———7/2022

20.4—————–20.3———–21.3

Information
7/2020———–7/2021———-7/2022

15,300———–16,000———-17,000
While nowhere near previous highs of the late 1990s-early 2000s “Dot.com” boom, this industry has been steadily growing since it hit a pandemic bottom in late 2020, and has returned to levels last seen in 2019.
Information Jobs as a % of Total Metro Jobs
7/2020————7/2021———-7/2022

1.5——————1.4—————1.5

Financial Activities
7/2020———–7/2021———-7/2022

85,200———–85,900———-85,600
Financial jobs initially recovered from the pandemic recession, but then in late 2021 through part of 2022 plummeted to their lowest levels in 6 years. However, since May, they have been shooting back up and are once again close to historic highs.
Financial Activities Jobs as a % of Total Metro Jobs
7/2020————7/2021———-7/2022

8.1——————7.7—————7.6

Professional and Business Services
7/2020———–7/2021———-7/2022
172,800———-183,800———181,200
These industries have been hovering around their highs since about 2015, so it seems like these jobs have not been changing much in recent years.
Professional and Business Services Jobs as a % of Total Metro Jobs
7/2020———–7/2021———-7/2022
16.4—————-16.6————–16.1

Education and Health Services
7/2020———–7/2021———-7/2022

152,100———-159,800———161,800
While these industries have not fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels, they are relatively close to doing so.
Education and Health Services Jobs as a % of Total Metro Jobs
7/2020———–7/2021———-7/2022

14.4—————-14.4————-14.4

Leisure and Hospitality
7/2020———–7/2021———-7/2022
90,600———–105,600————108,000
This industry should be near historic highs by the holiday season, despite being hit the hardest during the recent recession.
Leisure and Hospitality Jobs as a % of Total Metro Jobs
7/2020————7/2021————7/2022

8.6——————9.5——————9.6

Other Services
7/2020———–7/2021———-7/2022

37,400———–41,100———-41,900
This industry is near historic highs.
Other Services Jobs as a % of Total Metro Jobs
7/2020———–7/2021———-7/2022

3.5—————–3.7—————-3.7

Government
7/2020———–7/2021———-7/2022

170,100———-172,700———169,400
Government jobs have been in a slow decline since the pandemic recession.
Government Jobs as a % of Total Metro Jobs
7/2020———–7/2021———-7/2022

16.1—————15.6————–15.0



Immigrant Place of Birth Map




Columbus has a rapidly-growing immigrant population, with nearly 13% of the total population being foreign-born in 2020. But where exactly are these immigrant coming from, and where are they settling down in Columbus and Franklin County? To answer these questions, I visited the US Census and made this immigrant place of birth map from the raw data.

Click on any census tract to see the total immigrant population in 2020, a percentage breakdown by continent of origin and the top 5 nations of origin for each tract.

From the map, we can see that the Northwest and Northeast parts of Columbus and Franklin County are dominated by immigrants of Asian origin. Hilltop, Linden and parts of the Southeast are much more North American in origin, with the 161/Morse corridors and the Far East largely have African origins. There are relatively few South American or European dominated areas, but they do exist scattered about.
Some common misconceptions are debunked, however. Hilltop through Lincoln Village has long been thought to be the hub of the Mexican immigrant population, but several Latin American nations have significant populations there, including Honduras, El Salvador and Colombia. Many Mexicans seem to be settling in the Linden area now, instead. Meanwhile, Somalia is often considered as the origin of many immigrants in the Morse/161 corridors, and while that population does exist there, these corridors are far more diverse than common thinking.

2020 census tract maps are currently available for all sorts of other demographic and population data. This information in tract format is generally available for Columbus going back to 1930.