Favorable economic conditions bolstering Cincinnati’s labor market, say Cleveland Fed researchers

The Cincinnati metro area’s economy is experiencing a decline in unemployment, shining a spotlight on labor market conditions. In the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland’s latest Cincinnati Metro Mix, Bank researchers Rick Kaglic and Tristan Young found that the trade, transportation and utilities sector led the region in absolute employment growth with 4,058 jobs added during the 2018 calendar year.

At 3.6 percent in April 2019, the unemployment rate in the Cincinnati metro area was 0.4 percent lower than it was a year earlier. “The Cincinnati metro area’s unemployment rate is currently on par with the unemployment rate recorded for the United States as a whole (3.6 percent in April) and is well below the statewide average of 4.2 percent,” write Kaglic and Young. “Since the beginning of the year, the metro area has seen a 1.3 percent increase in the size of its labor force.”

In May 2019, the Cincinnati metro area’s median value of a home was $170,100, while the nationwide median home value was $226,800. Home values in the Cincinnati metro area rose 6.9 percent year-over-year.

Per capita GDP rose 1.4 percent in 2017 for the metro area, similar to the growth seen in Ohio and the United States.

For more of Kaglic’s and Young’s insights on economic conditions in the Cincinnati area, see our latest Cincinnati Metro Mix.

Browse 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