Ohio Unemployment Rate Drops to 4.4% in October

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The statewide unemployment rate shed a tenth of a percentage point in October, declining to 4.4% from 4.5% in September, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services reported this morning.

A year earlier, October 2014, Ohio’s unemployment rate was 5.2%. The U.S. unemployment rate for October was 5.0%, down from 5.1% in September and down from 5.7% in October 2014.

Nonagricultural wage and salary employment in the state increased 30,800 over the month, from a revised 5,396,400 in September to 5,427,200 in October. The number of workers unemployed in Ohio last month declined 5,000, to 249,000 from 254,000 in September.

The U.S. Department of Labor cited Ohio as having the third highest number of new jobs in October, surpassed by California, which added 41,200 jobs, and Florida, which gained 35,200 jobs.

Goods-producing industries, at 895,800 added 11,500 jobs over the month, with gains in construction and manufacturing outweighing losses in mining and logging.

The private service-providing sector added 24,800 jobs in educational and health services, leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, trade, transportation, and utilities, financial activities and other services. Government employment shed 5,500 jobs in local and state government.

Gov. John Kasich, who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination, praised the jobs report.

“Our efforts to make Ohio more attractive to job creators are paying off, and it’s great to be recognized as one of the top states for jobs growth. Most important, the nearly 380,000 private sector jobs Ohioans have added are helping families get stronger, more hopeful and more secure,” he said.

“While our economy is stronger today and more diversified, we still have more work to do to reach our full potential, and we must continue to find new ways to make even more progress,” he added.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.