Ohio, US Unemployment Falls 0.1% in April

COLUMBUS, Ohio—Ohio’s unemployment rate declined a tenth of a percentage point in April, mirroring the drop in the national rate, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services reports this morning.

The statewide unemployment rate was 5.0% in April, down from 5.1% in March. Similarly, the U.S. unemployment rate was 4.4% last month, down one tenth of a point from the March rate.

Year-over-year, last month’s Ohio unemployment rate was unchanged, when it also stood at 5.0%. The national jobless rate in April was down 0.6 percentage points from April 2016.

The number of workers unemployed in Ohio last month was 288,000, down 5,000 from 293,000 in March. The number of unemployed has increased by 5,000 in the past 12 months from 283,000.

Nonagricultural wage and salary employment in Ohio — seasonally adjusted — decreased 5,700 over the month, from a revised 5,518,500 in March to 5,512,800 in April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Employment in goods-producing industries in Ohio, at 909,900, decreased 13,200 over the month due to losses in construction and manufacturing, while mining and logging employment was unchanged. The private service-providing sector, at 3,835,800, increased 9,400, with gains in professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, financial activities and information. Losses were recorded in trade, transportation, and utilities, and educational and health services.

In Ohio, nonagricultural wage and salary employment grew 35,900 year-to-date. Goods-producing industries, construction and manufacturing added jobs while mining and logging saw losses. The private service-providing sector also added jobs over the year in educational and health services, leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, financial activities, trade, transportation, and utilities, and information.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.