Ohio GDP expected to outpace national growth l Dayton, Ohio

Ohio’s economy will grow at a faster rate than the nation in 2017, and employers statewide will add nearly 75,000 jobs to non-farm payrolls by the end of the year, according to the latest forecast from Ball State University economist Michael Hicks.

Gross domestic product, or the value of all goods and services in the state, is expected to grow by 2.3 percent in Ohio this year, compared to 2.1 percent GDP growth for the nation as a whole, predicted Hicks, the director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State.

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Job growth in Ohio will also outpace the national rate, according to Hicks, who expects a net gain of about 74,400 this year in Ohio — a 78 percent increase from the 41,800 jobs added in 2016, according to the latest figures from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

A significantly improved environment for manufacturing, still the backbone of Ohio’s economy, will drive growth in the coming years, according to Hicks, who said manufacturing production in Ohio likely hit a record in 2016 in inflation-adjusted terms.

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