Columbus 2020 Releases October Economic Data

Columbus, OH –The Columbus Region’s unemployment rate continues to fall—down to 3.6 percent as of September, compared to 4.5 percent in Ohio and 5.1 percent nationally—while the Region’s economic development pipeline remains robust. Columbus 2020 was engaged in 148 active projects in October— up 15 percent since the start of the year.

Sixty of those 148 active projects involve potential attraction of international companies. This is on the heels of November’s announcement that Italian paper manufacturer Sofidel Group plans to bring a large manufacturing facility to Circleville. The Columbus 2020 team and its partners have completed 12 international trips in 2015.

“The Columbus Region is actively engaged with international companies and we’re competing for investments from around the world,” said Kenny McDonald, president and chief economic officer, Columbus 2020.

More than 60 percent of active international projects are manufacturing-focused.

Overall, manufacturing makes up about 42 percent of all active projects, followed by headquarters and business services at 32 percent.

Since January 2015, unemployment continued claims in the Columbus Region have dipped by 35 percent compared to just 10 percent nationally.

To view additional Columbus Region data, visit columbusregion.com/dashboards.

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