Lucas Co. loses 900 businesses in a decade

Lucas County lost nearly 900 businesses between 1998 and 2008, with the biggest losses in the retail and construction sectors, according to a report Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

While the total number of Lucas County businesses declined 8 percent, the number grew to the south in Wood County and to the north in Monroe County, Michigan, the figures show.

Wood County added 181 businesses, for a growth rate of 7 percent over the 10-year period, and Monroe County added 73 businesses for a growth rate of 3 percent.

Wood County's best gains came in the health-care and the finance and insurance sectors, which added 58 and 43 businesses, respectively. Monroe County had 59 new businesses in the health-care and the hotel and food service sectors.

Wood County gained 3,871 employees during the 10-year period while Monroe gained 3,029 employees. The combined annual payroll in Wood County grew by $714 million, while the annual payroll in Monroe County rose by $286 million.

The Census figures showed what types of businesses were among the 856 that Lucas County lost during the decade - 284 retailers, 203 construction firms, and 157 wholesale trade businesses. The county also lost 235 businesses involved in miscellaneous and unspecified services.

The county's biggest gain was in health care, where it added 140 businesses.

The next biggest growth sector was transportation and warehousing, where the county gained 45 businesses.

Cheryl Baughman, co-owner of Frogtown Books of Toledo, said the Internet virtually eliminated nearly all of Toledo's independent bookstores over the last decade.

"There's so many books available over the Internet from places like Amazon.com, it became almost impossible for anyone selling new books to compete," she said. "Amazon gives a 20 percent discount at the very least."

Since the advent of the online retailer, walk-in traffic at Frogtown Books - which sells only used books - has been cut in half, she said.

Lucas County also lost 15,605 employees between 1998 and 2008, Census figures show. Despite those losses, the combined business payroll in the county grew by nearly $1.1 billion.

Steve Weathers, president of the Regional Growth Partnership, said that could suggest that despite fewer businesses and employees, those employees who remained were more productive.

"The loss of businesses - with a downturn in the economy, you're going to see that. That isn't unusual," Mr. Weathers said. "But the higher payroll could mean … that even with businesses not hiring as many people, what they're hiring is people who are better workers with more skills and greater productivity."

Contact Jon Chavez at:

jchavez@theblade.com

or 419-724-6128.