by J.D. Davidson
Ohio continues to buck a national trend of job gains after the latest numbers from the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services showed the state lost jobs in August.
According to figures released from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, the state’s unemployment rate was unchanged from July to August at 4.5%. The labor force participation rate was also steady at 62.3%.
Both were slightly below the national average of 4.2% and 62.7%.
The August figures stopped a streak of five straight months where Ohio’s unemployment eclipsed the previous month.
“More concerning in this month’s report is the loss of 3,500 private-sector jobs in Ohio compared to the national job market, which continues to add private-sector jobs, although at a much slower rate when compared to 2023 or early 2024,” said Rea S. Hederman Jr., executive director of the Economic Research Center and vice president of policy at The Buckeye Institute. “Ohio’s labor market has cooled substantially during the summer months, with private-sector job growth virtually flat and below the national average. Ohioans and Ohio policymakers should focus on policies that will increase job growth, such as tax reform to lower tax rates, and avoid policies that will force employers to cut jobs, such as increasing the minimum wage.”
In May, the state’s unemployment rate grew to 4%, marking the first time it eclipsed the national rate in three years.
That news came 10 months after state leaders cheered a record-setting unemployment rate of 3.3% in July 2023, the third consecutive month Ohio reached historic lows.
Since then, the numbers have either held steady or risen to the point of eclipsing the national level.
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An Ohio native, J.D. Davidson is a veteran journalist with more than 30 years of experience in newspapers in Ohio, Georgia, Alabama and Texas. He has served as a reporter, editor, managing editor and publisher. Davidson is a regional editor for The Center Square.
