Ohioans living in counties where shale gas and oil production is under way are spending more money than they did in previous years, but the number of new jobs has not increased, a new study shows.

Researchers at Cleveland State University's Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs analyzed local sales receipts and total employment for 2011 and 2012 in 13 eastern Ohio counties -- and then compared them to the rest of the state.

In a report issued Tuesday (read the full text of the report in the document viewer below), the researchers found that in 13 counties from Ashtabula to Guernsey where significant or strong shale production was under way, sales activity increased 21.1 percent last year to $14.9 billion, compared to $12.3 billion in 2011.

"Sales activity in strong shale counties has clearly been faster than elsewhere in the state during 2012," the researchers summarized. The study does not identify the source of the increase in sales.

But employment growth due to shale development in the counties was not evident, the report noted. Employment rose 1.4 percent year-over-year in counties with heavy or moderate shale production, compared to 1.3 percent in other counties without shale development.

"Employment growth associated with exploration and early-stage production may have been captured by out-of-state workers that already possessed the necessary skills and training," the study speculates. "Employment growth should accompany the increased scale and scope of shale activities in the coming years."

The study divided the state's 88 counties into four groups -- those with strong shale activity, those with moderate shale development, those with weak shale development and those with no shale-related development.

The study ranked these 13 counties where shale development has been the strongest: Ashtabula, Belmont, Carroll, Columbiana, Coshocton, Geauga, Guernsey, Harrison, Mahoning, Portage, Stark, Trumbull and Tuscarawas counties.

Analysis of sales receipts in the 13 strongest shale counties from 2008 through 2012 showed that before last year, average sales receipts in the counties fell every years, beginning with a 9.8 percent fall in 2009 and ending 2011 with a 3.6 percent decline.

By the end of 2012, sales increases has more than made up for the previous declines, increasing an average of 21.1 percent.

Sales growth in counties with moderate to weak shale development increased 11 percent in 2012. And in counties where shale is being developed, sales last year picked up only 6.4 percent, the study found.