The Atlantic published a story last week that looked closely at the hardest hit industries since the 2007 recession began. The results are unfortunately not stunning, but are a continuing cause for concern. Nearly two million jobs have been lost in the construction industry alone in the past four years.
This past Friday happened to be the annual meeting of the Columbus Region’s Building Industry Association, the same day the article was published. The BIA honored Columbus2020! for taking action to grow our regional economy. I was very humbled and grateful for this award given that the building industry is still struggling. I am so appreciative for their support and their engagement in our efforts.
Accelerating employment in the construction industry is critical for many reasons. It is a primary employer of young males with only a high school degree, and activity in this sector builds confidence in the economy overall. Construction and the building trades are resilient and continue to innovate, focusing on high-growth population segments, green building trends, and remodeling of existing buildings. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), completed sales transactions for single-family, townhome, condo and co-op housing rose 13.5% year over year, which is encouraging. The market is gradually tightening with less and less inventory, but there is still a lot of work to do.
Thank you again to the BIA for its investment and encouragement. It is just one more reason to keep pushing hard for jobs, investment, and economic growth in the Columbus Region!
Friday we had a successful investor update at COSI. Almost 150 attendees gathered to discuss Columbus2020! success and 2012 plans. We heard from Keynote Speaker Curtis Spencer as well as John Ness regarding Logistics. Thanks to all those who attended and of course, thanks to our investors!
Columbus2020! Update
A special acknowledgement of Wendy’s growth in Dublin this past week, where they announced 170 new headquarters jobs, and one our investor’s FacilitySource, for their growth, which was covered in Columbus Business First last week. Great job! Our business development team will be in Texas, Illinois, and California this week speaking with site selectors and growing companies, and we are quite busy planning for 2012’s first quarter.