CLEVELAND, Ohio -- An encouraging demographic trend has accelerated for Greater Cleveland, which is attracting highly skilled young professionals in eye-opening numbers.

According to a study being released today, the area ranks 8th in the nation for the skill level of its young adult workforce, ahead of such "new economy cities" as Chicago, Seattle, Austin and Denver.

About 16 percent of area workers between the ages of 25 and 34 held an advanced college degree in 2013, the study found, up from 14 percent in 2009.

"That's a nice jump," said Richey Piiparinen, director of the Center for Population Dynamics at Cleveland State University, which conducted the study.

He attributes the brain gain to the allure of the region's life sciences industry and its advanced manufacturing, as well as immigration, and said the trend bodes well for Cleveland's transition to a smart economy.

The study identifies the region's most promising talent--young, working adults who hold graduate and professional degrees. These are primarily scientists, researchers, doctors and engineers, according to the study.

"These are the people who create jobs," Piiparinen said. "Twenty-five to 34 year olds are going to tell you where your economy is heading."

Leia Bradford, left, and Gina Peterson attended a fundraiser sponsored by the Cleveland Professional 20/30 Club in December. It's one of several young professional groups growing with new members.

While it remains to be seen what jobs will materialize, economists agree the future brightens with rising education levels and the emergence of a world-class talent pool.

Christopher Briem, an economist at the University of Pittsburgh, says changing demographics were key to Pittsburgh's transformation from a steel town once derided as "hell with the lid off" to a city skilled at robotics and financial services.

He contends that Cleveland, like Pittsburgh, may have underestimated its economic potential by looking at broad demographic profiles and overlooking smaller, emerging trends.

Education levels are a leading indicator of economic success and a quick glance at Cleveland's numbers fails to impress.

About 26 percent of adults in the five-county metro area hold a college degree, ranking the region 31st nationally. The study defines the metro area as Cuyahoga, Lake, Lorain, Medina and Geauga counties.

Briem argues that education levels will naturally be lower in regions with an older population and a blue-collar history. He says it makes more sense to examine the actual workforce and its newest members to gauge the level of human capital.

Piiparinen and fellow researchers James Russell and Charlie Post drilled down into the demographics and found a silver lining. According to their analysis:

33 percent of the region's young adults, people aged 25 to 34, hold a college degree. That ranks 25

Among young adults actually in the workforce (and not in college) 41 percent hold a college degree. That pushes Cleveland ahead of Columbus and Cincinnati to rank tops in Ohio and 21

Finally, 16 percent of those young professionals hold an advanced degree--the 8

Stacey Brown, left, moved from San Francisco to downtown Cleveland, joining a growing young adult workforce.

Piiparinen said the trend is powerful for a changing economy like Cleveland's because of multiplier effects. The study cites the work of economist Enrico Morreti, who has shown that a single high-skill job creates, on average, another five jobs in the professional or service sector.

Cleveland still has a ways to go to prepare its population to compete in a global economy. Within the city itself, fewer than 15 percent of adults hold a college degree and less than five percent of the community is foreign born, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The study notes that cities like Pittsburgh and Boston are well ahead of Cleveland in tapping global talent to make the transition from factory to knowledge work.

Boston, once distressed by mill closings, ranks second in the nation for the education level of its young adult workforce, behind Washington D.C., while Pittsburgh ranks third, the researchers found.

Piiparinen and Russell believe Cleveland could follow the paths of those two cities and they intend to explore strategies in subsequent research papers.

"They went from Rust Belt to innovation cities," Piiparinen said.

Boston began recruiting high skill immigrants in earnest in the late 1990s, when it opened the Mayor's Office for New Bostonians to retain international students. For Pittsburgh, Piiparinen said, universities like Carnegie Mellon have helped to lure world-class talent and companies like Google, which opened its Pittsburgh office near campus.

Case Western Reserve University is starting to show job-creating energy, Piiparinen said, adding that CWRU deserves some of the credit for Cleveland's growing talent pool. The university welcomed its largest international class ever last year.

Meanwhile, the region's immigrant stream, while merely a trickle, is one of the nation's most attractive. About 30 percent of immigrants in Greater Cleveland hold an advanced college degree, the study found.

Efforts by some business and civic leaders to convince the city and state to actively welcome immigrants have yet to gain much political support. Piiparinen thinks the welcomers should keep trying, for the sake of the economy.

"Immigrants are important to this divergence," he said. "Because the highest educated people are the job creators, and they happen to be immigrants a lot of the time."

Find the complete report here or at tinyurl.com/hiskil.

Robert L. Smith covers the innovation economy for The Plain Dealer. Follow him on Twitter @rlsmithpd.