IB Indicator

Want one good reason why Northeast Ohio is no longer shackled by its Rust Belt image? Try 21,000 new jobs in the professional, scientific and technology sector since 1993. That’s one of every five jobs created here between 1993 and 2008. We’re talking scientific research and development, advertising, accounting and tax prep, scientific and technical consulting, architecture and engineering, computer systems and legal services.

“We went from Fortune 500 to smaller companies,” says Edward (Ned) Hill, economist and dean of the Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University. “We went from R&D structured around metals to one that is broadly distributed. And the professional services industry changed dramatically.”

Some of that has been due to market forces, he says, but scientific research and technology in the region also changed. The Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals developed larger research components to add to their clinically focused and patient-based services. Akron’s knowledge base and talent in the polymer industry attracted small R&D facilities, while NASA Glenn Research Center generated additional contractor companies.

Organizations such as NorTech and Team NEO also played an important role in supporting technological development with funding and resources.

Consider the Cleveland Clinic, which has added numerous jobs in response to health care advances. Strides in patient care, such as the use of electronic medical records, demanded more IT employees. And the Clinic’s commitment to research led to new campus buildings and branch facilities being built, says Christopher Coburn, executive director of Cleveland Clinic Innovations. The Lerner Research Institute holds 4,000 employees, and there are plans to build a new reference facility that will create an estimated 800 new jobs. “It’s no surprise that Cleveland Clinic is the largest employer in the region,” he adds.