Statewide Unemployment at 5.1% in February

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The state’s unemployment rate in February was 5.1%, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services reports. The rate is a slight increase over both January’s 5% and February 2016’s 4.9%.

The national unemployment rate last month was 4.7%, 0.1% lower than January and 0.2% lower than February 2016.

Ohio’s nonagricultural wage and salary employment was 5,522,000 in February, up 15,200 from January’s revised total, according to a survey from the U.S. Department of Labor.

Employment in goods-producing industries – construction, manufacturing, mining and logging – rose 7,000 to 921,600, while the private service sector added 9,200 jobs to bring the total to 3,828,700. In the service industry the two largest gains were in the hospitality sector, which added 4,000 jobs, and education and health services with 3,900.

Over the past year, nonagricultural employment has increased 45,400.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.