Spectrum News: Economic effects of Ohio’s falling population
UC professor says more jobs are coming to the state but finding workers could be an issue
The population of Ohio has fallen in recent years, which a University of Cincinnati economics professor told Spectrum News could be a concern for the state’s employers.
Erwin Erhardt
In each of the past three years, Ohio has had more deaths than births. The Ohio Department of Development predicts the state, which currently is the seventh most populous in the United States, will lose almost 6% of its population by 2050.
Erwin Erhardt, PhD, an associate professor - educator in the economics department of UC’s Carl H. Lindner College of Business, said the falling population could be a future concern for Ohio’s economy.
“There’s more and more jobs coming to Ohio, but I guess one of the concerns I have in my mind is will we have enough younger people to fill them,” Erhardt said.
Featured image at top: Ohio welcome sign. Photo/fotoguy22 via iStock
Impact Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here.
Related Stories
UC doctoral student shares his journey with Spectrum News
July 27, 2026
UC doctoral student Amota Ataneka spoke with Spectrum News about his educational journey. Ataneka, a native of the Pacific island nation of Kiribati, is one of 35 emerging scholars across the United States to win the National Academy of Education/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship.
How scammers can persuade you with AI
July 27, 2026
Spectrum News recently dove into how cloning voices with artificial intelligence is making it easier to scam people over the phone. The news outlet spoke with Kimberly Hyun, assistant professor of marketing at UC’s Lindner College of Business, to examine why AI is making it so much easier to trick people.
The subtle changes in hearing you should never ignore
July 24, 2026
It’s easy to dismiss changes in hearing as minor. But as The Washington Post recently reported, these symptoms could also signal a medical emergency that many people don’t recognize — known as sudden sensorineural hearing loss, a rapid decline in hearing that occurs suddenly or over a few days.