Ohio’s jobless numbers decrease again

VW independent/ODJFS information

Ohio’s unemployment rate decreased again, according to numbers released Friday by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

Unemployment was 4.7 percent in August 2015, down from 5.0 percent in July. Ohio’s nonfarm wage and salary employment increased 14,600 over the month, from a revised 5,396,500 in July to 5,411,100 in August 2015.

The number of workers unemployed in Ohio in August was 265,000, down 21,000 from 286,000 in July. The number of unemployed has decreased by 45,000 in the past 12 months from 310,000. The August unemployment rate for Ohio was down from 5.4 percent in August 2014.

The U.S. unemployment rate for August was 5.1 percent, down from 5.3 percent in July and down from 6.1 percent in August 2014.

Ohio’s nonagricultural wage and salary employment increased 14,600 over the month, from a revised 5,396,500 in July 2015 to 5,411,100 in August, according to the latest business establishment survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor (Bureau of Labor Statistics) in cooperation with ODJFS.

Goods-producing industries, at 887,900 added 300 jobs over the month.

Job gains were seen in construction (+2,700) and job losses were seen in manufacturing (-2,300) and mining and logging (-100). The private service-providing sector, at 3,748,100, gained 16,500 jobs. Employment gains in professional and business services (+5,700), trade, transportation, and utilities (+5,300), leisure and hospitality (+2,900), financial activities (+1,700), other services (+1,000), and educational and health services (+200) surpassed losses in information (-300).

Government employment, at 775,100 decreased 2,200 due to job losses in local (-1,600), federal (-300), and state (-300) government.

From August 2014 to August 2015, nonagricultural wage and salary employment grew 58,600. Goods-producing industries lost 1,300 jobs over the year. Losses in construction (-11,300) and mining and logging (-1,100) exceeded gains in manufacturing (+11,100). Manufacturing added jobs in both nondurable goods (+8,600) and durable goods (+2,500).

The private service-providing sector added 47,200 jobs as gains in trade, transportation, and utilities (+21,300), leisure and hospitality (+12,400), educational and health services (+5,900), financial activities (+5,300), other services (+2,300), and information (+700) outweighed losses in professional and business services (-700).

Government employment increased 12,700 as gains in local government (+13,900) surpassed losses in federal (-900) and state (-300) government.