Medina County experiencing steady economic development in 2024

MEDINA — Medina County Economic Development Executive Director Bethany Dentler said the county has experienced a steady amount of economic development in the first three quarters of the year. Dentler presented her report on Medina County's economy during a commissioners meeting on Tuesday. There has been around the same amount of capital investment this year as there was this time last year, she said. There is $180 million in new capital investments, which include new machinery, equipment and real property or property improvements. "I expect that lower interest rates over the next six months will likely incentivize some pent up expansion demands, and the end of election season is always helpful," Dentler said. Various projects in the county have committed to creating about 485 new jobs, which amounts to $24 million in new annual payroll, she said. "That's actually much higher job creation than we saw by the third quarter of last year," Dentler said. "We do have a number of other projects that we expect to close before the end of the year." Unemployment remains low in Medina County, she said. The county's unemployment rate was 3.8 percent in May, and it dropped to 3.3 percent in August. "(It is) well below the state of Ohio's August unemployment rate of 4.2 percent and the U.S. unemployment rate of 4.4 percent," Dentler said. "The county's August unemployment rate this year is a bit higher than the August 2023 unemployment rate of 3.1 percent." Medina County's overall labor force increased by 429 people from this time last year, she said. Yet, it is still about 1,600 people less than the prepandemic labor force in August 2019. "Considering that we lost over 6,100 people in the labor force in 2020, we are definitely moving in the right direction," Dentler said. Industrial expansion is happening in areas like Medina, Wadsworth and Liverpool Township, she said. There are also commercial investments throughout the county like Cool Beans coming to Brunswick and Chase Bank opening in Medina. "We're hearing that (employers) are having an easier time attracting job seekers," Dentler said. "There's still work to be done on the training and retention side." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.