Greater Cleveland is experiencing one of the nation’s strongest economic recoveries, according to a report released Tuesday by the Brookings Institution and the London School of Economics.
Ranked 10th among 50 US metro areas and 49th among 150 cities worldwide, Cleveland’s recovery may get worldwide attention.
The report ranked the metro areas based on “annual growth in employment and per capita income across three time periods: pre-recession (1993-2007), recession (2007-2009) and recovery (2009-2010).”
According to the findings, “Greater Cleveland's turnaround is especially impressive considering that the area ranked 135th of 150 cities before the recession and 131st during the downturn.”
Cleveland’s climb from the bottom 20 to the top 50 is most likely due to rising incomes and productivity. It is thought that one of Cleveland’s best opportunities is to link segments of its economy, notably manufacturing, to the Asian and Latin American markets.
This article attributes increased productivity to Cleveland's strong recent recovery. Companies are doing more with fewer workers in Cleveland. Although the unemployment rate has fallen a mere 0.1%, the income per capita has increased 4.1%. To me the increase in income is a much more important factor, especially when comparing it in these proportions that Cleveland has experienced. Income is able to increase due to the fact that productivity has increased, resulting in more profitability for the firms. With higher profitability, these companies are able to pay their workers better and as the article states, less workers are needed while productivity continues to thrive.
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