In the first two parts of our Watchdog series looking at JobsOhio, 21 News focused on the ways in which JobsOhio operates largely out of the public eye. 

They claim this is to give them greater flexibility to work with companies to attract investment. 

But is it working? Some longtime critics are saying the state is not getting its money's worth. 

JobsOhio was created to attract and retain jobs, like the ones at the future Intel plant in Columbus.

The nonprofit helps businesses by offering incentives, such as grants and forgivable loans, a mission that's been met with broad, bipartisan approval. 

JobsOhio sent 21 News a statement that said the following:

“The jobs created from 2011-2021 have generated $2.6 billion in state tax revenue each year since the end of 2021. Since the beginning of 2022, another 63,000 jobs have been committed, which will lead to even more tax revenue for the state, underscoring the importance of continuing the JobsOhio work.” 

But an analysis from former Ohio State Representative Jay Edwards found that investment is hardly spread out evenly across the state.   

Edwards said while JobsOhio spends an average of $120.37 per Ohioan, that number in Mahoning County is a little more than half of that, $63.63 per resident. 

Alexa Sweeney Blackann, Interim CEO of Lake to River, said Lake to River was created to help fix that gap.

“Team NEO has been a great partner for a long time, but they had a much larger footprint that included Cleveland, Akron, Canton, so the opportunity to do something just for our four companies that are coming here in our counties, could lead to better results," said Blackann.

But Jeff Crossman, a former Ohio State Representative, said this raises questions about the group's priorities. 

“Some areas of the state clearly are not growing as dynamically as say Columbus is, and you can look around the state firsthand. So it would be nice to know, if there was some transparency with JobsOhio, what are they investing in?” said Crossman.

Jim Renacci, a former Ohio congressman and a staunch conservative Republican, has been raising this issue since JobsOhio was founded in 2011. He feels more jobs should be created each year with the amount of tax revenue they receive.

“Why are the other states doing better and they don't have a JobsOhio? Why are they creating jobs and they don't have a JobsOhio. And we know that they are also going after, in many cases, the same jobs we are, so I think that is not a good answer,” said Renacci.

For context, new business applications in Ohio have fallen more than 18% since this time last year. According to the U.S. Bureau of Statistics, Ohio’s unemployment  rate in December of 2024 was 4.4%, and the national average is 4.1%.

This means Ohio’s unemployment rate is 0.3% worse than the national average at that same time. 

Ohio’s growth in consumer spending is among the slowest in the nation. 

Catherine Ingram, Ohio State Senator, continues to question the group's lack of transparency. She feels the group has come a long way since it was first created, but also points out that until they are transparent, there is no way to know why a project was chosen, and if there are conflicts of interest.

“You're not going to see that the way that it functions now. And because they believe that they are an independent private entity, they don't have to do that," said Ingram

When asked how they can prove to be good stewards of their money, JobsOhio continues to point to their stats. Here are some of the stats provided by JobsOhio:

“The $1.4 billion, $686 million in supplemental payments, and the $15 billion in additional tax revenue for Ohio far surpasses what the state would have received from simply running the liquor enterprise. When JOBS grants money to JobsOhio for every $1 invested by JobsOhio in economic development, the state receives $17, resulting in a high ROI for the people of Ohio…” 

Crossman said because business is done in secret, JobsOhio’s stats can't be verified.

“We have to take it at their word and, you know, JobsOhio has been criticized for investing, say the last few dollars in a project that's already in the works, and then they take credit for the entire project,” said Crossman.