(The Center Square) – Ohio continues to set records with its growing job market.
The July jobs report, released Friday morning by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, showed a record-setting unemployment rate of 3.3%, the third consecutive month of record levels.
Ohio’s July rate remained below the national average of 3.5%, but the state’s labor force participation rate dipped to 62.1% from 62.2%.
“The good news is Ohio employers have consistently added new jobs throughout 2023, making this the strongest job market year in Ohio’s history, and both surveys used to measure the strength of the job market reported their best metrics since the creation of the surveys,” said Rea S. Hederman Jr., executive director of the Economic Research Center and vice president of policy at The Buckeye Institute.
The report showed Ohio added 6,800 private-sector jobs, along with more than 5.6 million jobs filled, another record for the state, according to a news release from Gov. Mike DeWine.
“Ohio is the heart of opportunity, and today, we are making history,” DeWine said in a statement. “We have yet another record low unemployment rate in July at 3.3, below the national rate of 3.5%. Our formula in Ohio is working, and today’s jobs news is proof of that.”
July was the sixth straight month the state posted an unemployment number below 4%, and Ohio added 67,700 private-sector jobs in the first seven months of the year.
“The importance of these numbers is the great career opportunities they represent for the people of Ohio,” Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said. “A growing economy is important for more than economic reasons – it allows our children and grandchildren to have great career opportunities without ever leaving Ohio.”
