May 2013 Newsletter
Concord Township was the fastest growing Community in Lake County between 1970 and 2010, adding 12,253 people for a 206% growth rate. No other community in Lake County increased by 100% during the period. Madison Village came close with a growth rate of 90%. Concord Township has to be considered exceptional in Lake County by its growth rate.
Regional population change between 2011 and 2012 was a negative 6,151 persons. Ashtabula County lost 697, Cuyahoga County lost 4872, Lake County lost 176, and Summit County lost 416. Gainers were Geauga County with 362 added and Medina County with 282 added. The numbers have to be a concern of regional officials.
U.S. Latino population swells 47 percent in 11-year study
A new national survey shows that the Latino population in the United States rose 47 percent from 2000-2011.
The Pew Research Hispanic Center in Washington, a demographic research institute, found that the Latino population in the United States during those 11 years swelled from 35.2 million to 51.9 million.
The total U.S. population as of 2011 was 311.6 million, meaning that 16.7 percent of people living in the country were Latino, compared with 12.5 percent in 2000.
And that percentage is expected to increase. Of all births in the United States in 2011, 23.1 percent were to Latino women. The center says its figures include undocumented people. There are thought to be 11 million to 12 million undocumented people in the country, 80 percent of whom are Latino.
Two-thirds of all people of Mexican descent in the United States were born here.
Not only did the number of Latinos and their percentage of the U.S. population increase, but also the percentage of Latinos in the country who are U.S-born increased from 59.9 percent to 63.8 percent. Latinos have the lowest median age of any population group, 27, compared with 33 for blacks, 36 for Asians and 42 for whites.
The survey shows that educational levels of Latinos rose over the 11 years studied. The high school dropout rate among Latinos ages 16 to 19 plummeted from 17.5 percent in 2000 to 6.8 percent in 2011. The percentage of Latinos 18 to 24 enrolled in college rose sharply, from 20 percent to 32.9 percent in the 11 years.
The median income of a Latino household in 2011 was $39,000. That compared with $67,000 for Asian households, $54,400 for whites and $32,600 for blacks.
McClatchy News 2-21-13
Economic Good News
Ohio’ economic development program has won an award – the Governer’s Cup – from Site Selection magazine.
The cup is awarded annually to the state with the greatest success in attracting new major capital investment projects that create at least 50 jobs.
“A re-engineered approach to business development with a return-on-investment focus is already bearing fruit in Gov. John Kasich’s new administration,” the magazine said. “Leadership in the new JobsOhio office is behind much of the Buckeye State’s success.”
Site Selection recorded 498 qualifying projects in Ohio in 2011, a jump of more than 30% form 2010′s 376 projects. Ohio last year finished second to Texas, which this year is second to Ohio, with 464 projects. Pennsylvania (453 projects), North Carolina (310) and Virginia (273) round out the top five.
Ohio’s total included 200 manufacturing expansions and 83 new manufacturing projects, with distribution centers, headquarters buildings and research and development centers comprising the rest.
Crains 11-18-12
Growing Manufacturing
It’s not a shortage of manufacturing jobs for workers in Northeast Ohio that concerns John Rampe. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.
Rampe says that the issue his company, Fairport Harbor-based Torque Transmission, and other regional manufacturers face is a shortage of laborers who not only want to work in manufacturing but who also have the technical skills and work ethic to do the job.
“There’s a culture in the nation that says that every kid should go to college. There’s thinking on the part of parents and grandparents who worked in factories who say, “I did it and it was tough and I don’t want my kids to do it,” explains Rampe.
As the president of Torque Transmission, a designer and manufacturer of power transmission components, Rampe has a vested interest in not only building his own workforce, but also in doing his part to ensure that a steady stream of skilled laborers continues to flow through Northeast Ohio. That’s why Rampe is working overtime to promote the Alliance for Working Together(AWT), a consortium of Northeast Ohio companies that want to change the misperception of American manufacturing, shape future generations of manufacturing professional and promote careers in manufacturing.
The gap between local manufacturing jobs and employees to fill them is very much today’s reality, says AWT president and CEO Pat Hoyt. In a survey of AWT’s member companies the first 18 respondents alone had a combined total of 178 available positions, ranging from mechanics to machinists and secretaries to senior buyers.
“I also asked them what they were expecting in three to five years. The total there was almost another 300 jobs,” Hoyt says.
The findings are consistent with broader national surveys. According to a September survey from The Conference Board, a research organization that provides information on economic indicators, Ohio ranks third in the nation(behind California and Texas) with 14,202 openings in skilled factory jobs. The National Association of Manufacturers says that approximately 80 percent of manufacturers indicate that finding qualified workers is a problem.
Solving that problem is AWT’s mission. Since its founding in 2002 by Roger Sustar, owner of the Mentor-based Fredon Corporation, the AWT has dedicated itself to cultivating and retaining a manufacturing workforce for Northeast Ohio companies. The alliance has grown from 10 member companies to a membership of 71 companies today.
One of the group’s recent initiatives began in September 2011, when the AWT and Lakeland Community College teamed up to offer an associate of applied science degree designed around the National Association of Manufacturers’ industry standards and skills certification system. Last year, 22 students enrolled in the fall program. The AWT has also set aside $50,000 in scholarships to provide tuition assistance to students enrolled in the program.
The AWT leadership is keenly aware that cultivating a manufacturing workforce goes beyond educational programs. “We’ve said from the beginning that we need to set up a farm system, but first we have to get students interested in manufacturing careers,” says Hoyt. That’s why last year, the AWT sponsored factory tours for 1,500 Northeast Ohio seventh and eighth graders. All of the students were taken through career exploratory labs that gave them insight on careers in manufacturing, followed by a tour of an AWT member’s manufacturing facility. “This year, our goal is to get back in front of all those students and reinforce the message,” Hoyt adds.
Rampe remains bullish on the AWT’s future, thanks to its programs and momentum. “I see the AWT becoming a very strong organization promoting manufacturing in Northeast Ohio,” he says. “Manufacturing isn’t going to go away. It’s still a very important part of our economy. The more we market ourselves and work to create a better, more educated workforce, the more people will turn to the region as a manufacturing area. Here, we have the ability to make things and to make them economically. That is our future.”
Neoeconomist 11-12
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Lake County Development Council
LCDC and its members constitute a significant part of what makes Lake County such a great place to live and do business.The Council seeks to enhance the quality of life in Lake County and stands to assist you and receive your input.
