Providing Help for Ohio | News, Sports, Jobs

One big economic development announcement after another might make Ohioans believe the future is looking bright. But the here and now is looking a little less shiny. A recent look at state-by-state unemployment figures showed Ohio is experiencing the 8th worst change in unemployment in the country.

Unemployment here is 4% (the national average is 3.5%). The Buckeye State had a 1.3% increase in unemployment from August to September 2022.

When we start to look at the bigger picture, it looks wonderful to say that from September 2020 to September 2022 there was a 46.9% reduction in unemployment. But we all know why the number is skewed. One more step back shows there has been only a 7.8% reduction in unemployment from September 2019 (when there was no pandemic affecting the numbers) to September 2022.

In Ohio, growth is not just slowing, it is barely slogging along. It will be years before those figures are affected by plans for massive employment at Intel and Honda.

It is wonderful to know lawmakers and other public officials are looking for a solution. What we need from them now is an understanding Ohio families cannot afford to wait for all the next big things we’ve been promised just around the corner.