Littleton Editorial: Before you dig into the debacle that is Ohio’s economy and the latest report from the Buckeye Institute below, keep in mind there is just one thing, above all others, that would turbo charge Ohio’s economy. It’s not a new handout, subsidy or credit. It’s not a gimmick, façade or front. It’s freedom. In this instance – workplace freedom.
We can amend Ohio’s constitution to ensure that no union can force a worker to pay dues or fees just to have a job. When workers have freedom choice – they will choose to leave unions because they are taking their money with little return on their investment.
Businesses will have new flexibility to thrive and grow, workers will have freedom in their workplace and Ohio will quickly become one the best places to do business – not one of the worst.
Learn more about the Ohio Workplace Freedom Amendment here.
From Buckeye Institute: Ohio By the Numbers – April 2012
Private sector recovery remains fragile and economic “hole” means long road ahead
The April 2012 Ohio by the Numbers report continues to reflect the serious challenges Ohio faces in recovering from decades of growth deficits.
This report compares Ohio to other states in overall private sector job growth over several distinct time spans. The periods analyzed are: from 1990 until the present day, from peak employment in 2000 through the present day and from the beginning of the current decade to the present day.
• Ohio lost 6,300 private sector jobs in April;
• Ohio currently ranks 20th nationally in terms of private sector job growth since January 2010, growing at a 3.4 percent rate (top ranked North Dakota grew 16.9 percent over the same time span);
• Ohio currently ranks 47th for private sector job growth since January of 1990, growing at 5.9 percent (top ranked Nevada grew 83.3 percent over the same time span).
Assuming the “Best Case Recovery” scenario of a private sector growth rate similar to the 1990s boom, Ohio will not recover to peak employment of 4.85 million, which was reached in March 2000, until at least April 2017. It is more likely that peak employment will not return until the early 2020s. In other words, 17 years between peaks in private sector employment.
Within individual industry sectors, only Professional and Business Services and Education and Health Services have more people employed in them today than in either 1990 or 2000.
The report shows that Forced Union states (which includes Ohio and most of its neighbors with the recent exception of Indiana which became a worker freedom state in February) had a private sector growth rate far below Worker Freedom states. Since 1990, Worker Freedom states’ private sector jobs grew at a 36 percent rate vs. only 13 percent for Forced Union states.
Even during the decade from 2000-2010, which included the tech bubble burst of 2000 and the “Great Recession” of 2008-2009, Worker Freedom states gained jobs for a minimal growth of around 0.1 percent while Forced Union states lost 5 percent. Since 2010, Worker Freedom states also outperformed Forced Union states, growing at a 4.1 percent rate vs. only 3.5 percent.
To view the full report, please Click Here.
