COLUMBUS, Ohio – Across Ohio, younger workers are more likely to be unemployed, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services’ 2024 Annual Economic Report.

In the 20- to 24-year-old age group, the unemployment rate was 7.9% for men and 7.6% for women. For the 25 to 34 age group, the unemployment rate declined to 4.1% for men and 3.5% for women. The 55 to 64 age group had the lowest rate at 2.6% for women and 1.9% for men.

The unemployment rate for Blacks was 9.2% for men and 8.7% for women, while Hispanic men fared better at 3.1%. Hispanic women still lagged at 6.5%.

In 2024, the state’s annual average nonfarm employment rose by 34,300 jobs to 5,650,400. Total private employment rose by 22,800 jobs for a total of 4,860,800.

August had the highest number of job postings in 2024, and registered nurses continued to be the most advertised occupation in each of the JobsOhio regions.

Nonseasonally adjusted unemployment claims ranged from 21,399 in March to 45,810 in December. All counties reported an increase in unemployment levels throughout the year, and the statewide unemployment rate increased from 4% in January to 4.5% in December.

By comparison, the U.S. unemployment rate started at 3.7% in January, fluctuated throughout the year and ended at 4.1% in December.

The annual average unemployment rate for 2024 ranged from 3.2% in Holmes County to 6.8% in Meigs County. The rate was 5% in Mahoning County, 5.2% in Trumbull County and 4.9 in Columbiana County.

The Youngstown-Warren-Boardman metropolitan statistical area tied the Toledo MSA for the highest average unemployment rate at 5.5%, while the Cleveland MSA had the lowest at 3.8%.

The newly formed JobsOhio Eastern Region, which covers Ashtabula, Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties, had 267,400 employed, 279,200 in the labor force, 11,780 unemployed and an unemployment rate of 4.2%. That placed the Eastern Region fourth among the seven regions in the state.

The nonseasonally adjusted initial jobless claims in Ohio show 627,121 claims in 2023, but only 346,123 in 2024.

Manufacturing had the largest percentage of initial claims at 20.2%, followed by construction at 17.7%, administrative and waste services at 9.8% and health care and social services at 9.4%.

Registered nurses far outpaced other careers among the top occupations advertised online at 56,733 listings. Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers were next at 29,716 listings, followed by first-line supervisors of retail sales workers at 24,956, retail salespeople at 19,876 and stockers and order fillers at 15,997. Software developers, accountants and auditors, customer service representatives, industrial engineers and maintenance and repair workers rounded out the top 10.

The Eastern Region varied only slightly from the rest of the state. Registered nurses outpaced other occupations with 2,790 listings, followed by heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers at 1,319, first-line supervisors of retail sales workers at 1,219, retail salespeople at 1,105, customer service representatives at 592 and stockers and order fillers at 574. First-line supervisors of food preparation, licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses, cashiers and fast food and counter workers rounded out the top 10. 

The full 2024 report can be viewed HERE.