Ohio Unemployment Declines to 6.1% in March
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio’s unemployment rate was 6.1% in March, down nearly half a percentage point from February’s 6.5% and more than a full point from March 2013’s 7.3%.
Nonfarm wage and salary employment increased by 600 over the month, to 5,282,900 in March, and the number of workers unemployed last month was 353,000, down from 377,000 in February. The number of unemployed in Ohio has decreased by 68,000 over the past 12 months from 421,000.
The national unemployment rate in March was 6.7%, unchanged from the month prior but down from 7.5% a year earlier.
Goods-producing industries, at 873,800, added 1,000 jobs from February, as gains in construction (up 4,600) were partially offset by losses in manufacturing (down 3,500) and mining and logging (down 100). The private service-providing sector, at 3,658,900, increased 2,800.
Gains were seen in leisure and hospitality (4,800), professional and business services (3,200), and educational and health services (2,400) while losses were experienced in trade, transportation, and utilities (4,900), other services (600), financial activities (900) and information (200).
Government employment, at 750,200, decreased 3,200, as local and federal government lost 3,500 and 100 jobs respectively, while state government added 400 jobs.
Over the year, nonagricultural wage and salary employment increased 53,600 through March 2014. Goods-producing industries increased 18,300 with 9,800 jobs gained in durable and non-durable goods. Construction added 7,800 jobs and mining and logging employment increased 700.
Private service-providing industries added 41,900 jobs over the year. Employment increased in professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, educational and health services, other services, and trade, transportation, and utilities. Financial activities and information saw over-the-year declines, and government employment decreased 6,600 at the local, state and federal levels.
"Today's jobs report is another sign that John Kasich's policies are getting Ohioans back to work,” said Connie Wehrkamp, communications director for the governor’s reelection campaign.” It's good news that our unemployment rate is the lowest it's been in six years and now stands well below the national rate, but we have to keep moving forward and that means keeping John Kasich in office."
The campaign of Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, who is challenging Gov. John Kasich this year, charged that the jobs report indicates the Republican incumbent’s policies only benefit “a select few” and attributed half the decrease in employment over the past year to Ohioans giving up on trying to find jobs.
“Industries that support middle class families like manufacturing, utilities, trade and transportation lost a collective 11,900 jobs in March alone,” said Daniel McElhatton, communications director for the FitzGerald campaign. “The governor's plan to fund tax cuts for the wealthy by raising taxes on the middle class and seniors simply does not work. Ed FitzGerald realizes that in order to create a strong stable economy, we have to build our economy from the middle out, not the top down."
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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