Once dominated by manufacturing, Dayton is now known for its strength in “eds, meds, and feds”

The birthplace of aviation maintains a solid manufacturing sector, but as participants in an October 9 roundtable discussion with Cleveland Fed president Beth Hammack put it, today’s Dayton is better known for its “eds, meds, and feds” economy.

The “eds and meds” sector now accounts for 19.3 percent of employment in the Dayton metro area, compared with 11 percent for manufacturing.¹

Meanwhile, Wright-Patterson Air Force base—a large source of the “fed” jobs—is Ohio’s largest single-site employer, with 38,000 direct employees and another approximately 50,000 “outside of the fence” supporting the defense industry. Overall, the base generates $17 billion in annual economic activity, according to city economic development officials.

The challenge of having a growth engine like the base is maintaining a pool of workers who can serve the “feds” sector. The supply of workers is constrained by the limited availability of affordable housing. Several roundtable participants characterized it as a “tale of two economies,” where highly skilled workers are thriving, but the wages of less skilled workers are struggling to keep up with rising prices.

About President Beth M. Hammack’s Around the District tour

President Hammack is visiting communities across the Fourth District as part of her Around the District tour to meet and connect with the people who live and work in all corners of the region and to gain a better understanding of how the economy is working in different communities. The Cleveland Fed, with branches in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, serves an area that comprises Ohio, western Pennsylvania, eastern Kentucky, and the northern panhandle of West Virginia. Hammack will use this information to inform her policy views and better represent the Fourth District around the Federal Open Market Committee table.