Ohio auto industry adding thousands of jobs

Ohio’s auto industry is rebounding from a long slide, having added thousands of jobs as pent-up demand for new and more fuel-efficient vehicles has pumped up production, according to environmental advocacy group and the federal government.

Ohio, Indiana and Michigan — three key auto industry states — lost an estimated 275,000 auto manufacturing jobs through much of the previous decade. Yet since June 2009, Ohio has added 11,300 new auto industry jobs, while Michigan has added 35,200 and Indiana has added 19,800, said DrivingGrowth.org, citing information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Ohio actually has added 12,000 auto manufacturing jobs during the past three years, bureau economist Thomas McDonald said Thursday.

The American auto industry as a whole has grown by 236,000 jobs in that same period, DrivingGrowth.org said.

“Global automakers are now sourcing their most advanced, high-tech manufacturing here in the United States, creating a more sustainable and secure future for the U.S. industry and U.S. workers,” said Tiffany Ingram, Midwest advocacy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, said in a statement from the DrivingGrowth.org website.

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