Cool Link Columbus Job Density



The Brookings Institute recently released a study on job density, or basically where jobs are most heavily concentrated within metro areas.

Here is how Columbus job density compared to other Ohio metros.

Total Jobs Located within 3 Miles of the Central Business District (Downtown) in 2010, Most to Least
1. Columbus: 157,193
2. Cincinnati: 151,956
3. Cleveland: 127,846
4. Dayton: 75,481
5. Akron: 66,247
6. Toledo: 59,552
7. Youngstown: 54,368

% of Total Metro Jobs Located within 3 Miles of the Central Business District (Downtown) in 2010, Highest to Lowest
1. Youngstown: 27.3%
2. Akron: 24.9%
3. Dayton: 24.5%
4. Toledo: 23.8%
5. Columbus: 21.2%
6. Cincinnati: 17.7%
7. Cleveland: 15.4%

So Columbus has the highest total number of jobs within 3 miles of the CBD, but is in the bottom half for % of total metro jobs in that area.

Jobs Change from 2000-2010 for all Jobs Located within 3 Miles of the CBD, Best to Worst
1. Toledo: -15,412
2. Akron: -16,700
3. Youngstown: -17,307
4. Columbus: -30,338
5. Cincinnati: -31,717
6. Dayton: -32,420
7. Cleveland: -54,134

% Jobs Change from 2000-2010 for all Jobs Located within 3 Miles of the CBD, Best to Worst
1. Cincinnati: -1.9%
2. Cleveland: -2.1%
3. Akron: -2.5%
4. Columbus: -2.5%
5. Toledo: -2.5%
6. Youngstown: -2.9%
7. Dayton: -3.9%

At first glance, this may seem like horrible news, and while it’s not necessarily good, almost all metros lost jobs in this area, even high growth cities like Charlotte, Atlanta, Dallas, etc. This has a lot to do with the suburbanization of the nation over the last several decades, including during most of the 2000s. Jobs left the central core to spread out into the suburban areas people were moving to.

Total Jobs Located Between 3 and 10 Miles from the CBD in 2010, Highest to Lowest
1. Columbus: 321,508
2. Cleveland: 317,128
3. Cincinnati: 252,789
4. Dayton: 164,453
5. Toledo: 137,339
6. Akron: 117,986
7. Youngstown: 89,711

% of Total Metro Jobs Located Between 3 and 10 Miles from the CBD in 2010, Highest to Lowest
1. Toledo: 54.8%
2. Dayton: 53.4%
3. Youngstown: 45.1%
4. Akron: 44.3%
5. Columbus: 43.4%
6. Cleveland: 38.1%
7. Cincinnati: 29.5%

% Jobs Change 2000-2010 for all Jobs Located Between 3 and 10 Miles from the CBD, Best to Worst
1. Dayton: +1.5%
2. Youngstown: +1.1%
3. Akron: +0.7%
4. Toledo: -0.1%
5. Cincinnati: -1.4%
6. Cleveland: -1.4%
7. Columbus: -2.4%

The positive % changes even while the area lost jobs has to do with how many the share of total metro jobs. While the area may have lost jobs, its share of the entire metro grew as other areas shrank faster.

Finally, the far suburbs…

Total Jobs Located between 10 and 35 Miles from the CBD in 2010, Highest to Lowest
1. Cincinnati: 452,895
2. Cleveland: 386,727
3. Columbus: 262,003
4. Akron: 82,260
5. Dayton: 67,838
6. Youngstown: 54,709
7. Toledo: 53,736

% of Total Metro Jobs Located Between 10 and 35 Miles from the CBD in 2010, Highest to Lowest
1. Cincinnati: 52.8%
2. Cleveland: 46.5%
3. Columbus: 35.4%
4. Akron: 30.9%
5. Youngstown: 27.5%
6. Dayton: 22.0%
7. Toledo: 21.4%

% Jobs Change 2000-2010 for all Jobs Located Between 10 and 35 Miles from the CBD, Best to Worst
1. Columbus: +5.0%
2. Cleveland: +3.5%
3. Cincinnati: +3.3%
4. Dayton: +2.5%
5. Toledo: +2.5%
6. Akron: +1.7%
7. Youngstown: +1.7%

So what do all these numbers show? Well, the larger the metro, the more spread out it seems to be as far as where jobs are located. Smaller metros like Akron and Dayton are more compact. Columbus is the most compact of the 3-Cs and has the most total jobs, by far, within 10 miles of its core of any metro, but not by %. None of the metros saw real jobs growth within 10 miles of their cores, which is to be expected. However, in recent years, urban development has exploded, and companies seem to be shifting jobs closer to the center. It remains to be seen if these are long term trends or just a blip.



March 2013 Jobs Data




March 2013 jobs data Columbus, Ohio

March 2013 jobs data has been updated for the greater Columbus Metro. The numbers reflect an economy still in long-term recovery from the Great Recession.

Columbus City
Unemployment Rate: 6.1%
Unemployment Rate Change since March 2012: -0.5
Unemployment Rate Change since January 2013: -0.7
Civilian Labor Force: 424,700
Civilian Labor Force Change since March 2012: -100
Civilian Labor Force Change since January 2013: -1,700
Employment: 398,800
Employment Change since March 2012: +1,900
Employment Change since January 2013: +4,000
Unemployment: 25,900
Unemployment Change since March 2012: -2,000
Unemployment Change since January 2013: -4,900

Franklin County
Unemployment Rate: 6.1%
Unemployment Rate Change since March 2012: -0.4
Unemployment Rate Change since January 2013: -0.7
Civilian Labor Force: 621,100
Civilian Labor Force Change since March 2012: +0
Civilian Labor Force Change since January 2013: -2,600
Employment: 583,300
Employment Change since March 2012: +2,700
Employment Change since January 2013: +5,900
Unemployment: 37,900
Unemployment Change since March 2012: -2,700
Unemployment Change since January 2013: -4,700

Columbus Metro Area
Unemployment Rate: 6.2%
Unemployment Rate Change since March 2012: -0.4
Unemployment Rate Change since January 2013: -0.8
Civilian Labor Force: 963,200
Civilian Labor Force Change since March 2012: +300
Civilian Labor Force Change since January 2013: -4,700
Employment: 903,900
Employment Change since March 2012: +4,200
Employment Change since January 2013: +3,400
Unemployment: 59,300
Unemployment Change since March 2012: -3,900
Unemployment Change since January 2013: -8,100

Ohio Overall
Unemployment Rate: 7.1%
Unemployment Rate Change since March 2012: -0.3
Unemployment Rate Change since January 2013 : +0.1
Civilian Labor Force: 5,744,000
Civilian Labor Force Change since March 2012: -26,000
Civilian Labor Force Change since January 2013: +4,200
Employment: 5,388,000
Employment Change since March 2012: -8,000
Employment Change since January 2013: -3,000
Unemployment: 407,000
Unemployment Change since March 2012: -18,000
Unemployment Change since January 2013: +7,200

Non-Farm Jobs
Total: 943,300
Change from March 2012: +5,000
Change from January 2013: -300

By Industry
Mining/Logging/Construction Total: 26,800
Change from March 2012: -900
Change from January 2013: -100

Manufacturing Total: 65,200
Change from March 2012: -200
Change from January 2013: +200

Trade/Transportation/Utilities Total: 179,300
Change from March 2012: -500
Change from January 2013: -2,900

Information Total: 16,400
Change from March 2012: -300
Change from January 2013: -100

Financial Activities Total: 71,700
Change from March 2012: +700
Change from January 2013: +0

Professional and Business Services Total: 155,900
Change from March 2012: +700
Change from January 2013: +300

Education and Health Services Total: 140,000
Change from March 2012: +4,000
Change from January 2013: +500

Leisure and Hospitality Total: 90,100
Change from March 2012: +200
Change from January 2013: +1,600

Other Services Total: 35,900
Change from March 2012: +200
Change from January 2013: -300

Government Total: 162,000
Change from March 2012: +100
Change from January 2013: +1,500

March was another mediocre month for the Columbus area, and Ohio in general. All indications are, however, that April really began to turn around the downturn that began in December.

The Columbus MSA Economy at the Bureau of Labor Statistics was the source of this data.