Mobility Tool

What Opportunities and Challenges Characterize Columbus's Labor Market Today?

This dashboard provides industry-level insight into Columbus's workforce – showing where people work and at what wage, how those sectors are growing, and what education needs look like – against a national benchmark. Use it to better understand the Columbus labor market, and how each major industry’s demand and growth exceed, match, or lag national benchmarks.

Labor Force Size1,080,974

Employment Growth0.6%

National Benchmark: 1.2%

Labor Force Participation Rate68.6%

National Benchmark: 62.3%

Unemployment Rate4.7%

National Benchmark: 4.3%

College Attainment Rate41.3%

National Benchmark: 42.0%

*Sources: BGI analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics, American Community Survey, and Lightcast data

Sort by

Share of Total Labor Force

Location Quotient

Job Postings

Employment Growth

Pay

Non-BA Share of Workforce

Health Care and Social Assistance

15.0%

9.2%

81,303

-1.9%

$50,000

49.9%

Retail Trade

11.0%

5.6%

58,438

-0.1%

$43,077

72.3%

Educational Services

9.3%

2.7%

33,895

+12.6%

$50,752

24.9%

Manufacturing

8.6%

-3.7%

39,189

+0.3%

$65,000

66.3%

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

8.0%

-10.8%

55,564

+3.9%

$85,555

28.4%

Finance and Insurance

7.9%

56.0%

29,067

-6.4%

$91,300

36.1%

Accommodation and Food Services

6.1%

-7.3%

29,383

0.0%

$36,400

83.7%

Transportation and Warehousing

6.1%

16.0%

20,564

-3.4%

$69,000

83.9%

Construction

5.4%

-21.6%

17,340

+17.6%

$57,200

81.0%

Public Administration

4.9%

-8.4%

10,017

-0.3%

$68,224

46.4%

Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services

4.4%

-3.0%

96,677

+11.2%

$68,500

77.2%

Other Services (except Public Administration)

4.0%

-16.1%

14,323

-6.2%

$50,974

67.7%

Wholesale Trade

2.4%

1.2%

25,079

-27.1%

$58,240

57.4%

Information

1.8%

-12.4%

13,342

+12.1%

$90,000

45.2%

Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation

1.7%

-19.3%

3,788

-19.8%

$40,560

59.1%

Real Estate and Rental and Leasing

1.7%

-14.2%

13,968

+16.1%

$52,000

55.7%

Significantly Below National Average

Below National Average

On par with National Average

Above National Average

Significantly Above National Average

*Sources: BGI analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics, American Community Survey, and Lightcast data

Key Insights

Broad, Healthy Demand Signal

Posting intensity is elevated: 13 of 16 industries are above or much above the benchmark on postings (notably Construction, Education, Information, Real Estate, Manufacturing, Retail, Admin & Support). Employers are actively hiring across the board.

Finance is the Clear Specialization — and it Pays

It’s is the one sector flagged much above on concentration; it’s sizeable (7.9% share) and pays $93.7k (much above), but is in a near-term downshift (-6.4% YoY, below benchmark). However, postings being on par suggests that the trend might be stabilizing.

Construction & Real Estate are Running Hot

Construction: +17.6% growth (much above), much-above postings, pay $57.5k (above), albeit below-benchmark concentration—the cycle is expanding capacity. Real Estate: +16.1% growth (much above), much-above postings, pay $52.0k (above).

Which Industries Can Drive Greater Economic Mobility in Columbus?* Click on a bubble to explore roles for this industry.

Explore how industries in Columbus compare in terms of talent mobility and employment growth. Use this tool to identify sectors that could benefit the most from upskilling or career pathways.Bubble size reflects the number of workers in each industry.

Mobility Gaps

Opportunity Engines

Redeployment Opportunities

Thinning Launchpads

Mobility Index

Employment Growth

How can Columbus Mobilize Talent to Strengthen Opportunity Engines?

This chart highlights the roles that merit recruiting, reskilling, or redesign focus.

Roles inEducation Level

Address Opportunity Gaps

Mobilize Now

Redeploy

Build On Strengths

Mobility Index

Talent Shortage Index

Which High-Mobility Roles Should Columbus Target to Unlock Opportunities?

This section highlights individual roles with high talent mobility – occupations where workers can transition into, grow, or move across roles more easily.

Roles in

High Mobility Roles with Talent Shortages in Columbus

Talent Flows into Accountants and Auditors

This chart shows transition pathways into Accountants and Auditors

Loading chart...

Feeder Roles

Select a role to see its feeder roles

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