Ohio’s unemployment rate, labor force moving in the right direction

On Apr 15, 2022

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Ohio’s unemployment rate, job numbers and labor force are changing slowly, but doing so in a positive way, new data reported Friday showed.

Ohio’s unemployment rate was 4.1% in March 2022, down from 4.2% in February, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. The state added 18,300 jobs as well, according to the data.

The number of unemployed workers was 237,000, down from 242,000 in February and down 90,000 in the last 12 months. The March 2021 unemployment rate was 5.7%, according to ODJFS.

Ohio’s labor force participation rate was 61.7% in March, slightly up from 61.6% in February and less than half-a-percent up from the 61.4% seen in March 2021.

During the same period, the U.S. labor force participation rate was 62.4%, up from 62.3% in February 2022 and up from 61.5% in March 2021.

The U.S. unemployment rate was 3.6% in March, down from 6% in March 2021.

Rea Hederman, head of The Buckeye Institute’s economic research center, said in a news release that the improvements in Ohio were small but indicate that Ohio’s job market continues to get stronger.

Ohio’s unemployment rate has dropped since its highest point in April 2020, when it skyrocketed to 16.4% amid COVID-19-related closings.

Hederman also noted that many Ohioans still aren’t in the labor market, pointing to the labor force participation rate.

“While the job growth is positive, too many Ohioans have yet to return to the job market, which will make it challenging for employers to fill open positions,” he said in a news release. “Ohio lawmakers need to adopt policies that will spur economic growth, encourage workers to relocate to Ohio, and make it easier for workers to move to Ohio and continue their careers.”

Some employers, including Cedar Point last year and Vail Resorts for the upcoming year, upped their starting pay to $20 an hour to solve worker shortages.

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