Private companies invested more than $284 million in the Valley last year, many with the help of regional economic development agencies. According to data compiled by the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber and its economic development partners—and published in the 2019 Economic Development Report Card—a total of 66 projects resulted in $284,254,524 invested, 1,851 new jobs and 2,809 retained jobs.

In comparison, in 2018, 102 company projects resulted in $173,364,100 of investment, 1,157 new jobs and 3,217 retained jobs.

Sarah Boyarko, COO at the Regional Chamber, said, "We utilize the report card to inform our community about the diverse economic growth throughout the two-county area. The participating entities work collectively to support the business community to help make these investments a reality, and the report card and information provided are always well received."

The Chamber, in partnership with 15 other agencies, gathers data on economic development investment in the Valley annually. The entities' combined resources assist companies with infrastructure investment, tax incentives, loans, project coordination, grant oversight, technical advisement, property development and other services. Each individual agency provides project investment for business attraction, retention/expansion and/or startup; job creation/retention; and notable activity that occurred within its reporting year. The collective efforts of the agencies are screened for duplication and then presented in the report card.

Bert Cene, executive director of the Mahoning Columbiana Training Association, said, "The Area 17 Workforce Development Board and MCTA value our participation in this initiative as a means to effectively communicate our efforts to impact the overall economic development climate in our region. We utilize the publication data to assist us in developing our workforce development strategies to ensure we are providing the most efficient and effective services to both businesses and job seekers."

Julie Green, director at the Trumbull County Planning Commission, added, "The report card is a great resource for elected and public officials, non-profits and private businesses to read through and see what successes we had in 2019, which may spur some ideas for new growth in 2020. It is an important metric to use to track success!"


The Regional Chamber's partners in Mahoning and Trumbull counties include CASTLO Community Improvement Corp.; City of Warren; City of Youngstown; Eastgate Regional Council of Governments; Mahoning Valley Economic Development Corp,; OhioMeansJobs Mahoning and Trumbull counties; Ohio Small Business Development Center, Export Assistance Network and Regional Economic Development Initiative, all of which are housed at Youngstown State University; Tech Belt Energy Innovation Center; Trumbull County Planning Commission; Warren Redevelopment and Planning Corp,; Western Reserve Port Authority/Northeast Ohio Development and Finance Authority; Youngstown Business Incubator; and Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp.