Economist and Regionomics founder Bill LaFayette delivered his annual Blue Chip Economic Forecast at the Columbus Metropolitan Club yesterday. He expects job growth in central Ohio in 2017 for the 7th consecutive year.
LaFayette says the slower growth is partially due to the faster recovery the region experienced in 2010 as communities began to come out of the Great Recession. The forecast projects strong employment growth in leisure and hospitality and construction. Areas of concern for LaFayette include manufacturing and retail employment. He says central Ohio had a good year in 2016 with preliminary numbers showing just over 20 thousand net new jobs, a growth of 2 percent compared with 1.7 percent growth nationally and Ohio's 1.3 percent increase. Those estimates could change when revisions are released in March.
