More Jobs: Economic Analysis of
Cuyahoga County & Metro Cleveland
Cuyahoga County's Economic Growth Trailed Rest of Ohio Since 2001
Data Confirms Rapid Growth of Private Business Formation, But Employment Growth is Lacking.
Conclusion 1: Cuyahoga's Private Employment hasn't fully rebounded after Covid to 2019 level.
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Private employment in Cuyahoga County dropped by over 100,000 (15.1%) from 2001 to 2010 due to foreign competition and severe recession.
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Private employment gained back about half of the loss from 2010 to 2019, but the rate of increase trailed the rest of Ohio.
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Private employment for 2025 is estimated at about 606,000, about 30,000 below 2019.
Conclusion 2: Cuyahoga's Private Establishments have grown since 2019, but growth is less than other Ohio areas.
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The number of private establishments in the county dropped by over 3,000 (-8.2%) from 2001 to 2010 due to structural economic changes and a severe recession.
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The number of private establishments remained virtually the same from 2010 to 2019, while the rest of Ohio had a modest increase.
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The number of private establishments increased by 2,800 to nearly 38,000, the same as 2001. The rate of increase was about half of the rest of Ohio. below 2019.
Note: BLS's Quarterly Census of Employment & Wages is based on actual data rather than surveys. It is regarded as a very good source, but reports trail actual conditions by 6 months..
More Jobs: Cuyahoga County Has Great Potential As 21st Century Defense Manufacturing Center
The United States is currently undergoing a massive defense manufacturing revitalization, driven by 2025 geopolitical tensions and a shift toward domestic production. With the Pentagon requesting nearly $30 billion for defense production in 2027, Cuyahoga County has a unique window to reverse decades of manufacturing decline.
The Opportunity
Cuyahoga County is well-positioned to become a premier defense hub by leveraging:
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NASA Glenn: Utilizing its world-class research and testing capabilities for propulsion and power systems.
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The I-X Center: Repurposing its 2.2 million square feet of industrial capacity for large-scale manufacturing.
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Specialized Networks: Tapping into existing suppliers for advanced materials and extreme-environment testing.
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Strategic Partnerships: Aligning with Dayton’s defense infrastructure and state-level support from JobsOhio.
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​The Economic Impact
A successful 10-year strategy could be transformative for the region:
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Direct Jobs: 2,000 to 5,000 high-wage, specialized positions.
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Total Impact: Significant additional indirect job growth and new business opportunities.
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Five-Point Action Plan for Local Leadership
To secure this growth against national competition, the following steps are proposed:
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Immediate Initiative: Transition from "white papers" to an operational, funded economic development initiative, including increased support for groups like the Aerozone Alliance.
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Aggressive Marketing: Position the region as the primary site for defense contractors to prototype and validate next-gen military tech via NASA Glenn.
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Secure an Anchor Tenant: Actively recruit a major defense firm to occupy the I-X Center with a committed contract.
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Talent Pipeline: Launch apprenticeships and community college programs immediately to meet technical workforce demands.
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State Integration: Secure a seat on the Ohio Defense and Space Commission and advocate for the passage of HB 292 to capture statewide momentum.
More information on Cuyahoga defense manufacturing potential.
Summary & Critique of Cuyahoga Co. Economic Development Plans
Economic Development Plan Summary
Cuyahoga County’s Economic Development Plan has a four-pillar strategy that focuses on aligning the regional economic ecosystem, boosting the development capacity of fifty-nine municipalities, and driving business growth through targeted retention and expansion. It further aims to strengthen the workforce by removing quality-of-life barriers, such as housing and childcare, while utilizing a unified scorecard to track progress across these key areas. (The county's powerpoint for the plan is below.)
The Goal: A Plan Should Identify & Build on Strengths to Grow Jobs. Cuyahoga County’s Economic Development Plan should take advantage of the area’s economic advantages and minimize or negate the area’s disadvantages for businesses with specific, well-defined programs or initiatives to create permanent well-paying jobs. Unfortunately, recent versions of the economic development plan have not been successful in creating jobs or economic growth. Long-standing educational reform efforts and workforce development programs have had limited success in improving workforce quality.
How the Plan Fails. The plan does not clearly identify several key assets and advantages of the area and fails to provide very many specific proposals to take advantage of assets or to remedy disadvantages. The document does not provide clear measures to track progress, to assess success or failures. The document focuses excessively on processes, has vague coordination activities, and promotes many unrealistic social and ideological goals not widely shared by most of the public.
Review & critique of Cuyahoga Co Economic Developpemnt Plan
Cuyahoga County Economic Report (Nov 2025)
Cuyahoga County's Employment & Labor Force Have Grown Slowly But Consistently Since 2022
In November 2025, Cuyahoga County’s labor market showed growth, with employment reaching 611,000 (up 7,700 year-over-year) and the labor force rising to 632,000 (an increase of 8,500).
While both metrics have recovered from a brief dip in early 2025, they remain approximately 15,000 below pre-pandemic levels from November 2019. Unemployment sat at 21,100, down slightly from the previous year, maintaining a stable unemployment rate of 3.3%. This reflects the consistent, slow-growth trend seen since the 2022 recovery began.
For more information, read the PDF.
Can Metro Cleveland Capitalize on Surge in Private Businesses?
Cleveland Magazine/Community Leader (Feb 2025)
Since 2018, there’s been a significant, but largely unnoticed, growth in the number of private business established in Metro Cleveland.
Despite the Covid pandemic, private businesses grew from 53,800 businesses to 58,900 businesses in five years, an increase of 10%. Unfortunately, employment did not grow as well.
A better understanding of these entrepreneurial dynamics could arguably lead not only to the overall growth of new businesses, but to an increase in the segment that has the potential to grow and create jobs beyond the owner/proprietor model.
For more information, read the PDF.
How AI Summarizes My Views on the Economy
Jim Trutko’s economic platform, detailed in the Economy section of his site, argues that Cuyahoga County's current development programs have failed to foster a vibrant private sector. He emphasizes that true growth comes from empowering entrepreneurs in a supportive environment rather than government-led initiatives.
His core proposals include:
1. Target High-Growth Sectors
Trutko advocates for shifting the county's focus toward industries with the highest potential for local expansion, specifically:​
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Defense Industry: Supporting the rebuilding and expansion of local defense contracting and manufacturing.
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Artificial Intelligence (AI): Promoting the rollout and integration of AI technologies.
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Leisure & Healthcare: Expanding the leisure sector and sustaining the county’s status as a top-tier healthcare destination.
2. Increase "Development-Ready" Sites
He argues that the county needs to ensure that high-quality, shovel-ready sites are immediately available for business investment. This is intended to prevent companies from looking elsewhere due to a lack of viable local infrastructure or land.
3. Business-Friendly Governance
Trutko believes the county needs leadership that "publicly acknowledges the value of business activity." His plan involves:
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Tax Base Expansion: Increasing investment and jobs to support the county budget through a larger tax base rather than higher tax rates.
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Youth Retention: Creating local career opportunities so young people can build lives in the area rather than moving away for work.
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Outcome Tracking: Using a "Scoreboard" approach to help citizens evaluate economic conditions and assess the area's progress.
Metro Cleveland Economic Report (Nov 2025)
Metro Cleveland's Employment & Labor Force Have Grown Slowly But Consistently on An Annual Basis Since 2022
Metro Cleveland's employment was 1,076,700 in Nov 2025, about 13,600 more than a year ago. The labor force was 1,114,000, a modest increase of 14,800 since last year. Employment & the labor force have bounced back from a slight downturn in early 2025 and are 5,000-10,000 below the same month in 2019 before the 2020 pandemic. Unemployment was 36,000, about 1,300 higher than a year earlier. The unemployment rate was 3.2%, the same as a year ago. Since the Covid recovery began in 2022, employment and the labor force have grown slowly but consistently on an annual basis, and unemployment has decreased.
For more information, read the PDF.
How Competitive is Metro Cleveland?
Cleveland Magazine/Community Leader (May 2024)
Many Metro Clevelanders wonder how competitive the area’s economy is in creating jobs and businesses compared to eleven other Midwestern metropolitan areas.
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The period from 2010 to 2023 offers a fair period to assess Metro Cleveland’s ability to create jobs and businesses. Overall, Metro Cleveland finished tenth in job creation and ninth in business formation. The two metropolitan areas performing worse than Cleveland were Buffalo and Pittsburgh.
For more information, read the PDF with additional tables
For more information, read the article
Finding Growth to Strengthen Metro Cleveland's Employment Future
Cleveland Magazine/Community Leader (Aug 2024)
As Metro Cleveland’s civic leadership seeks strategies to strengthen economic development, it is easy to fall into the trap of over-emphasizing favored industries and trumpeting positive news. By analyzing publicly available data, it's possible to take advantage of real economic strength and develop better strategies.
The article looks at thirty-three industry categories for the 2010-2023 period to determine the industries with strong, above average performance.​​
For more information, read the PDF with additional tables
For more information, read the article
Economic Overview of Metropolitan Cleveland & Akron
Presented to Educational Service Center NEO Business Advisory Council (Feb 3, 2023)
The presentation is an in-depth look at the impact of Covid on the seven-county Cleveland-Akron metropolitan area for a group of educational administrators. It analyzes long-term economic trends & provides a post-pandemic economic outlook.
For more information, read the article
