When discussing economic and workforce development, leaders must think about the geographic distribution of jobs.
As cities continue to sprawl, connecting workers to jobs remains a critical issue that has lacked a substantive conversation. The Fund for Our Economic Future’s “Geography of Jobs” report raises this important issue and measures its impact in Northeast Ohio.
The major finding of the report are:
- Job growth over the past 20 years occurred predominantly in suburbs and areas that were formerly farmland, continuing a long-term trend since the 1950s.
- Outward job growth affects all Northeast Ohio residents regardless of where they live.
- Outward job growth disproportionately affects residents who need jobs the most, particularly the 200,000 residents living in the region’s economically distressed neighborhoods