Columbus Job Market: Shale Gas to Add Jobs

The Columbus job market may see significant improvements in the coming years, especially if things go as well as experts say. Shale gas may be the biggest benefit to the area in a long time, in terms of where jobs will be located. According to some, though, shale gas may or may not provide the job improvements promised by government officials. What is the truth?

According to an independent study conducted by the Ohio State University economists, there is promise in the development of shale gas in the area. There is no doubt that the development of this important gas industry resource could add jobs to the city of Columbus as well as throughout the area. However, there is some question over how many jobs it can possibly add and what is a realistic number.

According to the governor and his development team, as well as the gas industry, the investment into shale gas in the state could add as many as 200,000 jobs over the next few years. However, according to the OSU economists, that number is more like 20,000 over the next four years. These economists created the report called The Economic Value of Shale National Gas in Ohio to explain their findings. They say that the previous reports were industry conducted and thus did not provide a true picture of the potential job improvements that this particular industry's development could offer.

What is your view? Is it worth investment into this new gas resource in order to open the door for more jobs in the state even if the number of jobs may be lower than what some expect?