The Geography of Jobs
The vitality of a region’s economy depends in part on its ability to connect people to good jobs and firms to workers with the appropriate skillset. Spatially, on both those counts, Northeast Ohio is falling short. This is true relative to other parts of the U.S. and relative to the region’s potential to be globally competitive.
This is one of the key findings of the September 2015 report The Geography of Jobs, which showed the human cost of sprawl and poor spatial job access: long commutes and a decline in the availability of jobs nearby. These costs affect all people in Northeast Ohio, but most acutely those living in areas of economic distress.
Additional Analysis
Cleveland-based nonpartisan think tank PolicyBridge helped us engage the community around our research and gathered input on how to address the growing disconnect between where people live and work. PolicyBridge’s follow-on report, Roads Less Traveled, can be found here.