Economic Strategy

Columbus's economy has a far higher-than-average concentration in white-collar employment. Approximately 60 percent of the region's workers are in white-collar occupations, compared to 51 percent nationwide.

Transportation/Logistics
Transportation is a major focus of the region's economy - due to both the area's central location and to a well-developed and growing transportation infrastructure. Other key sectors are business and professional services and financial services. JPMorgan Chase & Company ranks as the largest private-sector employers, with more than 14,000 local jobs.

Government
While Columbus is the state capital and home to the main campus of Ohio State University, and the city has nearly 40 percent of Ohio's total state jobs, this is largely offset by lower-than-average concentrations of jobs at the federal or local levels. Thus government as a whole is not an overly dominant component of the local economy.

Manufacturing
Although the concentration of manufacturing employment is nearly 20 percent below the national average, several major manufacturers are located in the Columbus region. The largest of these is Honda of America Manufacturing, which also works with dozens of independent supplier companies in the region.

Technology
Technology is also an important focus. These jobs are distributed throughout the above sectors, especially business services, financial activities, information and government. The Columbus region had 30,500 workers in information technology occupations in May 2006, an employment concentration 39 percent greater than the national average.

Research
The Columbus region is also a hotbed of entrepreneurial growth and technologic advances. Anchored by Battelle, The Ohio State University and four nationally recognized hospital systems, our technology corridor supports advances in research and life sciences every day.

Future Growth
The Columbus region has identified four industries that will contribute greatly to our future growth. These industries are a key focus for our region – in addition to many other strong assets. Work is underway to develop long-term strategies that will grow our strength in logistics, automotive, personalized healthcare and tourism, arts and entertainment.