Congratulations, drinkers. You’ve helped our state by spending $742.7 million on 10.8 million gallons of liquor in the 2010 fiscal year. That’s an increase of $12.8 million over 2009’s total.

A report released last week by the Ohio Department of Commerce provides some detail on how the state liquor sales revenue is broken down, which includes $167 million for Ohio’s General Revenue Fund, $35.9 million for the Ohio Department of Development to fund the state’s small business loan program, $14.9 million to the Ohio Department of Development for Clean Ohio Revitalization Bonds, and millions more toward a variety of other state programs. [Read More]

Electric Car Manufacturer CODA Automotive announced today that they will be opening a new production facility in Central Ohio to build the lithium ion batteries for their automobiles. The new plant does not have a specific location selected yet, but is expected to create over 1000 new jobs for the region.

“This is a great day for Ohio’s economic future,” Governor Ted Strickland said earlier today at a gathering of state and local leaders who made the announcement. “We have the skilled workers, a world-class manufacturing infrastructure and a competitive business environment.” [Read More]

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) held a special announcement event this morning in Franklinton where it was revealed that Columbus will receive $23.2 Million this year to assist neighborhoods with vacant housing in their efforts for urban renewal.

Funding for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the federal program for economic stimulus. More information can be found online at Recovery.gov.

A report released today by the Columbus Chamber of Commerce projects that the regional retail sector for the Central Ohio region will steadily rebound and grow over the next 10 years. “Because the Columbus MSA did not fully participate in the boom, the recession has affected employment to a much smaller-than-average degree,” said Bill LaFayette, Ph.D., vice president of economic analysis for the Columbus Chamber.

Additional information can be found in the press release below. [Read More]

Back in May there was a bit of a hullabaloo about how the Columbus Blue Jackets could solve their economic issues, which included the idea of having Franklin County purchase Nationwide Arena.

Today, the Columbus Chamber of Commerce released a report that provides their analysis on the situation with the Blue Jackets, and provides nearly 20 different options on how the team can be retained and economic development of the Arena District increased. [Read More]

In most business-related polls, Ohio typically does not fare very well. In fact, the most recent “Best States for Business” report from Forbes has Ohio clocked in at #37.

But a new “Best Business Climate” report from Site Selection Magazine lists the state of Ohio near the top of the charts in 4th place, with only North Carolina, Texas and Virginia faring better. Why the drastic difference? Are the methodologies being used in these surveys that much different? Should we be taking one of these surveys more seriously than the other, or should we be averaging the two scores together to try to figure out where we actually stand?

According to a new study by U.S. News & World Report, Columbus was noted as one of the Top 10 cities in America for finding a job. Our strong healthcare, distribution, and technology industries are cited as a main reason that our city has managed to remain stable during the national economic recession.

Other cities on the list include Arlington, Houston, Oklahoma City, and Salt Lake City. The full article can be read here. For a deeper look into the Columbus Economy, check out our detailed interview with Dr. Bill LaFayette here.

The economic recession hasn’t prevented Ohioans from spending money on booze. In fact… it sounds like it’s actually helping that sector of our economy.

According to an announcement released today by the Ohio Department of Commerce, liquor sales have reached a record high for the 2009 fiscal year. A total of $729.9 million was spent on spirits throughout the state of Ohio, a 4.6% increase over 2008 sales figures.

A total of 10.6 million gallons of spirtous liquor was sold in Ohio in 2009. Congratulations to everyone involved in helping to set this new record!

We recently sat down with Dr. Bill LaFayette, the Vice President of Economic Analysis at the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, to discuss a variety of topics related to the Columbus economy.

Bill shares with us his professional insight and research on some of the most important job sectors in the region, the growing importance of the creative class and urban renewal, and his thoughts on how Columbus is weathering the current economic recession. [Read More]

From Business First of Columbus:

Report: Columbus holding its own amid recession

Columbus is feeling the sting of the recession like any other metropolitan area in the nation, but a new report indicates it’s holding up better than other big cities in Ohio – not to mention dozens of other major cities in the U.S.

The report placed the Columbus metropolitan statistical area 40th among those ranked for its strength, based on employment, unemployment, wage, output, home prices and foreclosure data.

[Read More]