Nearly 200,000 jobs needed in Ohio to get to pre-pandemic levels

On Mar 21, 2022

Ohio unemployment rate dropped to 4.3% in January, the lowest in nearly three years before the pandemic wrecked the economy.

Ohio’s unemployment rate, like the Columbus region’s, is now lower than it was before the pandemic began and wrecked the economy.

It’s a different story for jobs and the number of people with one or looking for one, even as employers continue to beg for workers.

Ohio’s unemployment rate in January was 4.3%, down from 4.5% in December, according to new state unemployment data.

The last time the unemployment rate was this low was February 2019, when the rate hit 4.2%.

Ohio’s unemployment rate was 4.6% in February 2020 right before the pandemic took off. Unemployment soared during the early days of the coronavirus, peaking at 16.4% in April. It has been falling steadily since.

The unemployment rate is so low because workers have dropped out of the labor force.

Ohio’s labor force has about 5.7 million workers, about 200,000 fewer than before the pandemic began.

While the state has added 88,800 jobs over the past year, Ohio needs about 180,000 jobs to get back to pre-pandemic levels even as companies continue to beg for workers.

Many Ohio workers on sidelines despite plentiful jobs

“The job figures from January suggest that many workers in Ohio remain on the sidelines despite plentiful job openings and rising wages,” said Ben Ayers, senior economist at Nationwide. “Job growth in the state would likely improve if more workers reenter the workforce, as is expected over 2022.”