2014 Unemployment Rates Down in Ohio, Pa., US

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Ohio’s average unemployment last year was down nearly two full percentage points from 2013, and Pennsylvania’s rate was down nearly as much, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. Average unemployment rates for 2014 were down in all 50 states, according to the report released Wednesday.

In Ohio, the average unemployment rate during 2014 was 5.7%, down from 7.5% in 2013. Ohio tied with North Carolina and Colorado for the second-largest rate decline. The largest rate decline occurred in Illinois, where unemployment dropped 2 percentage points.

The total number of individuals unemployed in Ohio last year was 328,000, down from 427,000 the year before.

In Pennsylvania, the annual average unemployment rate was 5.8% last year, down from 7.4% the year before. Last year, 370,000 people were unemployed, compared with 478,000 the year before.

In 2014, the U.S. unemployment rate decreased by 1.2 percentage points to 6.2%.

Last year was the first year since 1984 that all 50 states and the District of Columbia experienced over-the-year declines in their unemployment rates. North Dakota had the lowest average annual unemployment rate in 2014, 2.8%.

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