JobsOhio, coalition hail strong jobs ‘pipeline’

Jeff Hoagland, president and chief executive of the Dayton Development Coalition, briefs directors of JobsOhio at Aileron Friday. THOMAS GNAU/STAFF

Jeff Hoagland, president and chief executive of the Dayton Development Coalition, briefs directors of JobsOhio at Aileron Friday. THOMAS GNAU/STAFF

While new job creation so far this year may be down somewhat compared to last year, the “pipeline” of expected new jobs is humming, local and state economic developers said Friday at a JobsOhio board of directors meeting

“We’re going strong, with a lot of growth,” Jeff Hoagland, Dayton Development Coalition president and chief executive, told a small audience at Aileron, the business education campus created 10 years ago by billionaire Clay Mathile just outside Tipp City.

There have been just over 1,140 new jobs committed so far in 2018 in the Dayton region and just over 3,600 existing jobs retained, Hoagland said.

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Retained jobs and existing employers already in the Dayton area and Ohio are key in the eyes of professional developers. Some 79 percent of job creation since 2012 has come from employers already anchored here, Hoagland said.

The new jobs commitment so far this year amounts to 23 new projects won with new annual payroll of just over $52 million and capital investment of more than $262 million in the coalition’s 14-county Western Ohio region, according to numbers the coalition presented to the Aileron audience.

In 2017, for the entire year, the region saw 2,078 new jobs committed, 10,208 current jobs retained, at a new payroll of $112.3 million, paired with a capital investment of $949.7 million in 37 new projects won.

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Today, the coalition counts just under 32,000 jobs in the bio-sciences sector in the region. That’s projected to see 12 percent growth by 2023, the sector expected to grow fastest in the region.

The coalition focuses its efforts on five industry sectors, including aerospace and defense, advanced manufacturing, IT and data management and logistics.

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Statewide, new job creation is up slightly over the same point last year, with 13,755 new jobs counted as of Aug. 31, 2018, just over 13,103 new jobs won at the same point last year.

But JobsOhio is counting a total of 65,377 new jobs in the “pipeline” of possible to likely job-creating prospects, according to numbers presented by John Minor, the private non-profit’s president and chief investment officer.

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Under that number are specific applications for state benefits that, if enacted, would create 10,195 new jobs and keep 38,885 current jobs, JobsOhio said.

And with a net position of $584.1 million, “We’re in solid position to do projects,” Minor said.

However, Minor also stressed that figure does not take into account $143.5 in restricted cash tied the liquor enterprise and $286 million in current job commitments.

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