Report: Ohio fracking counties saw declines in jobs, population and income

A decade earlier, the oil and gas industry was touted as being the savior for the Ohio River valley region, which had weathered the crumbling of the steel industry and watched helplessly as the coal industry declines.

The millions of dollars invested in the Marcellus and Utica region were supposed to translate into local wealth in the form of more jobs, higher incomes and more people moving into the region.

However, a new report released Wednesday by an independent think tank based in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, the Ohio River Valley Institute, showed that 22 counties in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia responsible for 90% of Appalachia's oil and gas production saw their share of the nation's jobs, personal income and population all decline.

"In many respects, it's the region that should have theoretically benefited the most from development," said Sean O'Leary, a native of Wheeling, West Virginia, and senior researcher of the institute's 27-page report.

In fact, Ohio fared the worst of the three states examined for economic success.

Seven eastern Ohio counties — Belmont, Carroll, Guernsey, Harrison, Jefferson, Monroe and Noble — were the hardest hit amongst those analyzed, experiencing a net job loss of more than 8% and a population loss of more than 3%.

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https://www.dispatch.com/story/business/2021/02/10/ohio-fracking-boom-never-translated-more-jobs-and-growth-report-says/4450698001/

***** Ohio: We Can’t Do Anything Right