Business Leaders and Community Stakeholders:

Eleven years ago, Ohio realized it had a problem: The state had lost more than 230,000 of its critical industrial jobs over the previous decade (an 18% decline). That is equivalent of losing all the jobs at the top employers in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton, and Toledo, combined. Career opportunities were drying up for Ohio’s normally proud and productive workforce. People were leaving the state. Something had to be done to reverse the trend.
State leaders and financial experts urgently studied the best economic development models in other states and decided not to copy them. Instead, Ohio designed and engineered a unique economic development platform. An entity that would be state authorized, but private, and staffed by seasoned professionals with extensive private sector experience. The entity would operate alongside (but outside) the State government, giving it the freedom to move at the speed of business and the expertise to speak the language of business.

In 2011, House Bill One created JobsOhio, Ohio's private economic development corporation. Two years later, JobsOhio raised capital in the bond market and paid the state treasury $1.4 billion to acquire the rights for Ohio’s Liquor enterprise through 2038. That put the “business” in JobsOhio’s business model and provided a stable source of funding without needing a penny of taxpayer money. Quite the opposite: JobsOhio shares profits from the spirits enterprise with the state and employs the rest to fund economic development operations and impact investments across Ohio. Since 2013, we’ve sent more than $380 million in profits back to the state.
There is nothing like JobsOhio anywhere else in the nation, perhaps the world. We are truly Made In Ohio! As we mark the end of JobsOhio’s first ten years, it’s appropriate to look back on the progress made since our founding and outline the steps we are taking today to make an even greater impact in the decade to come. JobsOhio is Ohio’s competitive advantage.

JobsOhio 10-Year Results (2011 - 2020)
•    More than 2,800 Economic Development Projects
•    Attracted 500 Companies from Outside of Ohio to Establish Operations in Ohio
•    More than 210,000 New Jobs Created
•    More than $10 Billion in New Payrolls Added
•    More than 590,000 Ohio Jobs Retained
•    More than $35 Billion in Retained Ohio Payrolls
•    Helped Companies Invest $64 Billion on New Capital Assets in the state
•    More than $380 Million in Profit-Sharing Payments to the Ohio General Fund
•    Resulting Jobs Generate More than $1.35 Billion in State Income Taxes Annually

I am pleased to report that in the decade since our founding, JobsOhio projects and investments have helped to reverse Ohio’s industrial job decline. JobsOhio targets ten strategic industries with the highest productivity, wages, and economic impact. These sectors account for 33% of gross state product, 22% of jobs, 40% of payroll in the state. And we’re winning. In fact, Jobs in our target industry sectors are up 14% since 2011, and job commitments from our projects accounted for 80% of all jobs added in our target industry sectors in 2018 and 2019. These a good-paying jobs: The average wage per job was over $74,000 in 2020, versus $58,000 for the rest of Ohio’s private industry.

Along the way, we’ve helped over 2,100 home-grown Ohio companies keep and expand their businesses within the state. And we’ve helped over 500 companies to put down roots in Ohio. While we’re proud of these results, our JobsOhio team is convinced we’re just getting started. And they’re right!