Economic situation in Toledo has improved in recent months, say Cleveland Fed researchers

After rising earlier in the year, the unemployment rate in the Toledo area stabilized at 4.9 percent in August 2018, almost a full percentage point lower than it was in August 2017. “Gains in manufacturing employment are helping to fill the gap left by the closure of the Jeep Cherokee plant,” write Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland researchers Joel Elvery and Julianne Dunn in the Bank's latest Toledo Metro Mix. “The manufacturing sector saw the strongest job growth (3.9 percent) of any sector in the Toledo metro area during the 12 months that ended with March 2018.”

The researchers note that employment also increased in construction and leisure and hospitality. However, the professional and business services sector saw a marked decline in employment, and the trade, transportation, and utilities and government sectors also saw employment declines.

Examining the Toledo housing market, the researchers note that while year-over-year growth in the median home value slowed in the Toledo metro area, the state of Ohio, and the United States in August 2018, the growth in home prices remains strong. “In the Toledo metro area, the median home value rose 3.7 percent year-over-year, to $109,300,” say Elvery and Dunn. They also note that building permit activity in the Toledo area has increased steadily since August 2017.

For more of Elvery and Dunn's insights on economic conditions in the Toledo area, see our latest Toledo Metro Mix.

And browse through our Region, for data, maps, research, and other information related to the diverse economies and communities in the region served by the Cleveland Fed: Ohio, eastern Kentucky, western Pennsylvania, and the northern panhandle of West Virginia.

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland

The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland is one of 12 regional Reserve Banks that along with the Board of Governors in Washington DC comprise the Federal Reserve System. Part of the US central bank, the Cleveland Fed participates in the formulation of our nation’s monetary policy, supervises banking organizations, provides payment and other services to financial institutions and to the US Treasury, and performs many activities that support Federal Reserve operations System-wide. In addition, the Bank supports the well-being of communities across the Fourth Federal Reserve District through a wide array of research, outreach, and educational activities.

The Cleveland Fed, with branches in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, serves an area that comprises Ohio, western Pennsylvania, eastern Kentucky, and the northern panhandle of West Virginia.

Media contact

Doug Campbell, doug.campbell@clev.frb.org, 513.455.4479