(The Center Square) – Ohio’s unemployment continued to rise in February, but other areas showed more positive job-related signs.
The state’s jobless rate rose from 4.6% in January to 4.7%, higher than the national average of 4.1%, which is also increasing. Ohio’s figures continue a trend of rising 12 out of the last 13 months and have reached a level higher than at any point in the last three years.
While the state’s labor force participation rate grew to 62.5% and passed the falling national average of 62.4%, analysts say slow growth in the last half of 2024 is pushing Ohio’s unemployment numbers higher.
Also, the report showed 25,000 new private sector jobs were added in the state in February.
“Better news came in the payroll survey, which revised January job numbers up by 5,000 and reported that 25,000 new private-sector jobs were added in February,” Rea S. Hederman Jr., executive director of the Economic Research Center and vice president of policy at The Buckeye Institute, said. “Despite the reported job growth, both the national and Ohio job markets have cooled in the past year. Ohio policymakers should prioritize spending restraint in the biennial budget in case the economy continues to soften.”
Ohio’s rising unemployment numbers come when newly released federal inflation data showed prices rose faster than expected in February, contradicting federal data from earlier this month.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis released the Personal Consumption Expenditures Index, a key marker of inflation, which showed an increase of 0.3% in February, more than experts expected.
“There is a deep need to connect Ohioans in the labor force to good jobs with family-sustaining wages,” said Molly Bryden, researcher at Policy Matters Ohio. “Monthly job growth doesn’t tell the whole story: Many Ohioans are feeling the effects of persistent inflation, and economic conditions have left Ohio employers unable to meet rising job demand among Ohio’s growing labor force. State lawmakers must address looming economic uncertainty faced by Ohio’s working families by fully funding the programs that enable our communities to thrive.”
