Listen to an excerpt of Chris Chmura's interview on 90.3 WCPN, a local Cleveland radio station, regarding the Cleveland economy.
For the second year running, Ohio has two cities among the nation's poorest. According to U.S. Census numbers, almost 30 percent of Clevelanders lived in poverty last year, making it the second poorest city, Cincinnati comes in tenth with almost 24 percent poor. The unfortunate ranking isn't new, nor is the cause. Economist Chris Chmura, publisher of "Ohio Economic Trends," says former industrial cities hit hard by the auto industry and sub prime loan crisis have to wise up -- fast. CHMURA: “Knowledge-intensive industries are those that are growing at a faster pace, and paying higher wages. The Cleveland area has not transitioned as quickly as some other areas of the country.” Chmura says the Census report focused only on the cities, but Cuyahoga county’s employment rate also has declined steadily since 2000—and more bad numbers are certain from 2008. However, the economist says Cleveland has strong institutions like the Cleveland Clinic, museums and its sports teams that should buy the city time to make an economic comeback.
For the second year running, Ohio has two cities among the nation's poorest. According to U.S. Census numbers, almost 30 percent of Clevelanders lived in poverty last year, making it the second poorest city, Cincinnati comes in tenth with almost 24 percent poor. The unfortunate ranking isn't new, nor is the cause. Economist Chris Chmura, publisher of "Ohio Economic Trends," says former industrial cities hit hard by the auto industry and sub prime loan crisis have to wise up -- fast.
CHMURA: “Knowledge-intensive industries are those that are growing at a faster pace, and paying higher wages. The Cleveland area has not transitioned as quickly as some other areas of the country.”
Chmura says the Census report focused only on the cities, but Cuyahoga county’s employment rate also has declined steadily since 2000—and more bad numbers are certain from 2008.
However, the economist says Cleveland has strong institutions like the Cleveland Clinic, museums and its sports teams that should buy the city time to make an economic comeback.
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