Recession will last longest in Midwest, including Ohio, two reports show

by Tom Breckenridge/Plain Dealer Reporter
Wednesday June 17, 2009, 12:01 a.m.

CLEVELAND -- The recession has hit hardest and will last the longest in manufacturing-heavy areas of the Midwest, including Ohio and Cleveland, two new snapshots of the nation's economy show.

The Cleveland area's economic output -- the value of all goods and services -- has declined more than most metro areas' since its last peak in late 2004, a Brookings Institution report to be released today shows.

Greater Cleveland ranked 95th among the nation's largest 100 metropolitan areas in economic growth, with a 6.2 percent drop, the Brookings analysis of Moody's Economy.com data said.

"The auto industry and its supply chain have fallen off a cliff, and so has the Cleveland economy," said Brookings economist Howard Wial, one of the study's authors.

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