Ohio and U.S. Employment Situation (Seasonally Adjusted)

Ohio's unemployment rate was 6.0 percent in December, up from 5.6 percent in November, according to data released this morning by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Ohio's nonfarm wage and salary employment decreased 3,900 over the month, from 5,431,400 in November, to 5,427,500 in December.

"Ohio's labor market showed weakness in December, mirroring that of the US." ODJFS Director Helen Jones-Kelley said. "Total employment decreased slightly in both goods-producing and service-providing industries."

The number of workers unemployed in Ohio in December was 361,000, up from 334,000 in November. The number of unemployed has increased by 27,000 in the past 12 months from 334,000. The December unemployment rate for Ohio was up from 5.6 percent in December 2006.

The U.S. unemployment rate for December was 5.0 percent, up from 4.7 percent in November.

Total Nonagricultural Wage and Salary Employment (Seasonally Adjusted)
Ohio's nonagricultural wage and salary employment fell 3,900 over the month, from 5,431,400 in November to 5,427,500 in December, according to the latest business establishment survey conducted by ODJFS.

Goods-producing industries dropped 2,400 to 1,013,300. Construction employment was down 1,300. Losses in durable goods (-800) and nondurable goods (-300) reduced manufacturing 1,100. Natural resources and mining was virtually unchanged. Service-providing industries, at 4,414,200, fell 1,500 over the month. Government was down 2,100, while leisure and hospitality declined 1,700. Also down were trade, transportation, and utilities (-800) and other services (-800). Notable increases occurred in professional and business services (+1,800) and educational and health services (+1,300). Smaller gains were seen in financial activities (+700) and information (+100).

Over the past 12 months, nonagricultural wage and salary employment fell 15,300. Goods-producing industries dropped 14,500 due chiefly to losses in manufacturing (-10,500 in durable goods and -3,300 in nondurable goods). Natural resources and mining dipped 400 while construction slipped 300. Service-providing industries lost 800 jobs over the year. The largest declines were in trade, transportation, and utilities ( 4,300), financial activities (-3,600), and leisure and hospitality (-2,700). Information (-1,800), other services (-1,400), and government (-600) also had reduced employment. Educational and health services added 10,700 jobs, while professional and business services rose 2,900.

EDITOR'S NOTE: All data cited are produced in cooperation with the U. S. Department of Labor. Data sources include Current Population Survey (U.S. data); Current Employment Statistics Program (nonagricultural wage and salary employment data); and Local Area Unemployment Statistics Program (Ohio unemployment rates). More complete listings of the data appear in the monthly Ohio Labor Market Review. Unemployment rates for all Ohio counties as well as cities with populations of 50,000 or more are presented in the monthly ODJFS Civilian Labor Force Estimates publication. Updated statewide historical data may be obtained by contacting the Bureau of Labor Market Information at (614) 466-1109.

News release dates

A calendar of 2008 release dates is available online at http://lmi.state.oh.us/laus/releases.htm County, city and metropolitan area unemployment rates for December 2007 will be posted online at http://lmi.state.oh.us/laus/current.htm on Tuesday, January 22, 2008. January 2008 unemployment rates and nonagricultural wage and salary data for Ohio will be released by ODJFS on Friday, February 29, 2008. Please note that the news releases for January data will be later than usual due to the annual practice of revising the model-based labor force estimates for all states based on updated employment and unemployment inputs and revised population counts from the U.S. Census.

This information and the monthly statistical summaries it is based on are also available at http://jfs.ohio.gov/releases.

Choose this link to view the table on the Ohio and U.S. Employment Situation.

Choose this link to view the table for the Nonagricultural Wage and Salary Employment Estimates for Ohio.