Ohio jobless rate shows small decline

VW independent/submitted information

Ohio’s unemployment rate was 4.7 percent in August 2016, down from 4.8 percent in July. Ohio’s nonagricultural wage and salary employment decreased 2,000 over the month, from a revised 5,505,400 in July to 5,503,400 in August 2016, according to figures provided by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

The number of workers unemployed in Ohio in August was 272,000, down 6,000 from 278,000 in July. The number of unemployed has increased by 9,000 in the past 12 months from 263,000. The August unemployment rate for Ohio was 0.1 percentage points higher than the August 2015 rate of 4.6 percent.

The U.S. unemployment rate for August was 4.9 percent, unchanged from July and down from 5.1 percent in August 2015.

Ohio’s nonagricultural wage and salary employment decreased 2,000 over the month, from a revised 5,505,400 in July to 5,503,400 in August 2016, according to the latest business establishment survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor (Bureau of Labor Statistics) in cooperation with ODJFS.

Goods-producing industries, at 905,100, added 2,600 jobs over the month in construction (plus 2,100), manufacturing (plus 400), and mining and logging (plus 100). The private service-providing sector, at 3,812,900, lost 7,600 jobs.

Employment losses in professional and business services (minus 5,500), trade, transportation, and utilities (minus 2,400), other services (minus 2,400), and educational and health services (minus 1,600), exceeded gains in leisure and hospitality (plus 2,600), financial activities (plus 1,600), and information (plus 100). Government employment, at 785,400, increased 3,000 as gains in local (plus 3,100) and federal (plus 200) government outweighed losses in state government (minus 300).

From August 2015 to August 2016, nonagricultural wage and salary employment grew 78,300. Employment in goods-producing industries increased 6,000. Construction added 7,600 jobs over the year. Manufacturing employment increased 1,000 as gains in nondurable goods (plus 8,300) surpassed losses in durable goods (minus 7,300). Mining and logging lost 2,600 jobs over the year.

The private service-providing sector added 55,100 jobs as gains in educational and health services (plus 18,900), leisure and hospitality (plus 17,700), trade, transportation, and utilities (plus 8,600), financial activities (plus 5,300), and other services (plus 4,900) surpassed losses in information (minus 300). Professional and business services did not change over the year. Government employment increased 17,200 in state (plus 11,400), local (plus 4,300), and federal (plus 1,500) government.