According to the 2010 Ohio Manufacturers Directory, industrial employment in Ohio fell 10.4% over the past twenty-four months. Ohio lost a total of 106,629 manufacturing jobs over the past two years, with 27,398 jobs lost between August 2007 and August 2008 and 79,231 industrial jobs from 2008 to August of 2009. During the same period, Ohio lost 1,1198 manufacturers.

The loss of nearly 80,000 manufacturing jobs over the past year marks the sharpest decline that Manufacturers' News has ever reported in the 26-years it has been tracking the state's industry.

The sharpest decline in employment was in the lumber and wood sector, which saw a 44% decline in the past year. Employment in furniture/fixtures saw a 11.4% drop.

The top manufacturing sector in Ohio remains industrial machinery and equipment with 144,747 of the state's industrial jobs. This sector was down 4.4% over the past two years. The second ranked industry -fabricated metal products - accounts for 107,344 of Ohio's industrial jobs and is down 11%. Third ranked transportation equipment saw one of the worst drops in employment, down 20.5%.

All other sectors in Ohio lost jobs within the past twenty-four months and included chemicals/allied products, down 21.8%, primary metals down 16.3%; paper products down 11.8%; electronics down 10.3%; textiles/apparel down 9.7%; stone/clay/glass down 6.3%; printing/publishing down 4.9% and food products, down the least at 1.6%.