Jobs revival lifts Midwest economies

Bloomberg reports that the Midwest is undergoing a jobs revival. Michigan, for instance, gained 66,000 jobs in 2011, "the first gain in the state since the turn of the century," while "Ohio added 72,400 jobs last year. That included 18,300 manufacturing positions after losing 419,400 such jobs from 1999 to 2009, federal data show." That's good news. It's great news, stretching from the revitalization of the American auto industry to an applesauce snacks manufacturer adding 94 jobs in Michigan.

It's also good political news, as the economies of key states pick up in advance of the 2012 elections, with the auto industry a central part of the improvement in Michigan and Ohio at least.

The bad news is that a lot of the jobs are coming in non-renewable energy industries, keeping not just our energy use but our jobs economy mired in the past rather than moving forward. With the right investments and policies, as many jobs could be created in wind and solar and weatherization and energy-efficient products as there are now being created in making seamless tubes for fracking, something currently creating 350 jobs in Youngstown, Ohio, or in manufacturing and distributing oilfield equipment in Ohio and Pennsylvania. A manufacturing revival that helps Obama get through 2012 is good; one that's built to last is better.