Ohio’s Payroll Employment Hits Record High

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio’s unemployment rate in August was 3.4%, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services reported Friday.

The rate was up one-tenth of a percentage point from July’s 3.3% rate, which was the lowest since 1976 when the series for reporting unemployment started. August’s unemployment rate for Ohio was down 0.3% from 3.7% in August 2022.

Ohio’s nonagricultural wage and salary employment increased 3,500 over the month, from a revised 5,636,200 in July to 5,639,700 in August. This marks the highest payroll employment reported since the series started in 1990.

The U.S. unemployment rate for August 2023 was 3.8%, up from 3.5% in July 2023, and up from 3.7% in August 2022.

The number of workers unemployed in Ohio in August was 196,000, up from 194,000 in July, according to the state report. The number of unemployed has decreased by 37,000 in the past 12 months from 233,000.

Employment in goods-producing industries, at 942,600, decreased 800 as losses in manufacturing outweighed gains in construction. Mining and logging remained unchanged. The private service-providing sector, at 3,915,500, increased 4,600 as gains in other services, leisure and hospitality, professional and business services exceeded losses in trade, transportation and utilities; financial activities; and private educational and health services. 

Government employment, at 781,600, decreased 300 as losses in local government outpaced gains in state and federal government.

Year-over-year, nonagricultural wage and salary employment increased 87,400 in August. Employment in goods-producing industries increased 15,800. Manufacturing increased 3,500 as gains in durable goods outpaced losses in nondurable goods. Construction added 11,600 jobs, and mining and logging gained 700 jobs.

Employment in the private service-providing sector increased 60,900 as gains in private educational and health services, leisure/hospitality and other services outweighed losses in professional and business services; trade, transportation and utilities; information; and financial activities. Government employment increased 10,700 with gains in state and federal government, while local government did not change.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.