Governor touting jobs record

Gov. John Kasich knocked off rival Ted Strickland in 2010 by repeatedly hammering him on the loss of more than 400,000 jobs under his watch.

Now it's Kasich's turn to be judged on his jobs record.

Since employment counts were gathered in December 2010, Ohio has added an estimated 79,300 jobs, according to seasonally adjusted data from the Bureau of Labor Market Information.

Kasich, during a year-end press conference, spoke about a different number: 82,785. That's the number of jobs promised, created or retained through the JobsOhio effort.

"Eighty-three thousand jobs saved and created," Kasich said. "That makes me feel really good."

JobsOhio attempts were successful in 53 of Ohio's 88 counties, including Richland County. According to Kasich's office, the program here saved 75 Richland County jobs and retained 220 more with a total annual payment of $14.1 million.

But critics argue that much of JobsOhio's accomplishment was about not losing jobs rather than creating more, that the national recovery deserves some credit for the bounceback and that more progress could have been made had the governor been fully concentrating on jobs.

"He hasn't spent the past year focusing on job creation," said Seth Bringman, Ohio Democratic Party spokesman. "He's spent the past year attacking workers."

Kasich and Mark Kvamme, the jobs guru in his cabinet, contend they have righted the ship and job creation will be accelerating as the state's momentum builds.

There have been some good signs:

? JobsOhio reported 245 projects have yielded 21,099 new jobs and saved 61,686 others. These projects, the private agency claims, will generate or keep $4.8 billion in payroll in the state and $3.3 billion in investment.

? Income from job earnings in the last quarter were at its highest level since the end of 2008, according to inflation adjusted figures from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

? Through September, Ohio had attracted $180 million in venture capital this year, according to PriceWaterhouseCooper's online MoneyTree Report. That's the most private investment during the first nine months of the year in the state since 2008 -- and well above the average for the preceding decade.

And troubling ones too:

? The U.S. Department of Labor Reports that initial unemployment claims spiked in Ohio more than usual during the first week of December because of layoffs in the construction and auto industries.

? The unemployment rate is something the administration has been publicizing since it dropped from 9 to 8.5 percent last month. However, the decrease is significantly aided by a drop in the labor force -- the number of people working or actively seeking work. The reduction likely comes from thousands who gave up their job searches at least temporarily.

? Through November, 62,025 Ohioans dropped off the unemployment rolls, not because they found a job but because they've exhausted all 99 weeks of jobless benefits, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

Jobs philosophy

JobsOhio was the first Ohio House Bill proposed during Kasich's term and he and Kvamme spent much of his year-in-review press conference speaking about employment.

Kvamme told a story of how Ohio attracted Menards -- 350 jobs and $50 million in capital investment -- by working around existing highway weight restrictions to accommodate the company. Part of what JobsOhio has done, Kvamme said, is just to get government out of the way where necessary.

"One thing that was pretty clear to me from the beginning is that we do not create jobs, but we do a phenomenal job of impeding growth," he said.

That doesn't mean giving business everything it wants, administration members said.

Kasich denied tax incentives for Chiquita, he said, because the return on investment wouldn't have been realized for a decade. He called a deal like that "corporate welfare." The company announced its leaving its long-time headquarters in Cincinnati for Charlotte.

Kvamme said the state will come out positive on taxes collected from JobsOhio's incentive deals in the first year and those deals will push revenues up to $2.8 billion in 10 years.

Even Ohio's losses were victories, they said. Getting companies to take a good long look at Ohio -- as Calisolar did before choosing Mississippi over Richland County, or as Sears did before opting to stay home in Illinois -- is a sign of progress, the governor said.

"We didn't get Sears, but we certainly got everybody's attention," Kasich said.

Bringman said Kasich is riding months of falling unemployment that started under Strickland's watch. He cited Kasich's rebuke of the auto industry bailout, his rejection of high-speed rail federal funds and, most often, the fight over collective bargaining rights.

Kasich maintained that Senate Bill 5, or Issue 2 as it was known on the ballot, was crafted with an eye toward creating a more business-friendly environment. The argument goes that by limiting unions, local and state governments could stop the upward trajectory of salaries and benefits for personnel.

Bringman said Ohioans thought they were getting a different approach for job growth.

"Voters resoundingly rejected the direction in which the governor is taking our state and sent a message that he should do what he promised and focus on creating jobs," Bringman said.

Source: http://mansfieldnewsjournal.com/article/20111225/NEWS01/112250308/1002/rss01

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