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

Ohio's unemployment rate was 10.9 percent in December, up from 10.6 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 16,700 over the month, from 5,103,600 in November to 5,086,900 in December.

"Ohio’s labor market weakened in December," ODJFS Director Douglas Lumpkin said.  "Job losses in the service-providing industries led to an increase in the unemployment rate to 10.9 percent."

The number of workers unemployed in Ohio in December was 641,000, up from 624,000 in November. The number of unemployed has increased by 196,000 in the past 12 months from 445,000. The December unemployment rate for Ohio was up from 7.4 percent in December 2008.

The U.S. unemployment rate for December was 10.0 percent, unchanged from November.

Total Nonagricultural Wage and Salary Employment (Seasonally Adjusted)

Ohio's nonagricultural wage and salary employment fell 16,700 over the month, from 5,103,600 in November to 5,086,900 in December, according to the latest business establishment survey conducted by ODJFS.

Service-providing industries, at 4,284,500, dropped 16,800 over the month. The most significant decreases occurred in trade, transportation, and utilities (-7,500) and professional and business services (-6,500). Declines were also posted in other services (-2,500) and government (-1,000). Small increases were noted in leisure and hospitality (+300), information (+200), financial activities (+100), and educational and health services (+100). Goods-producing industries advanced 100 to 802,400. An increase in durable goods (+3,400) exceeded a loss in nondurable goods (-2,000) to add 1,400 jobs to manufacturing. Construction was down 1,300. Mining and logging was virtually unchanged.

Over the past 12 months, nonagricultural wage and salary employment fell 184,900. Goods-producing industries were 105,400 lower. Manufacturing was down 89,200 due to losses in durable goods (-73,600) and nondurable goods (-15,600). Construction dropped 16,000, while mining and logging slipped 200. Declines in most sectors reduced service-providing employment 79,500. The largest decrease occurred in trade, transportation, and utilities (-35,900). Other sectors with lower employment were professional and business services (-17,200), financial activities (-12,400), information (-9,100), leisure and hospitality (-6,100), government (-4,000), and other services (-3,000). Educational and health services increased 8,200.

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) 752-9494. Ohioans can access tens of thousands of job openings, for positions ranging from file clerks to CEOs, at www.ohiomeansjobs.com.

News release dates

A calendar of 2010 release dates is available online at http://lmi.state.oh.us/laus/releases.htm County, city and metropolitan area unemployment rates for December 2009 will be posted online at http://lmi.state.oh.us/laus/current.htm on Tuesday, January 26, 2010. January 2010 unemployment rates and nonagricultural wage and salary data for Ohio will be released by ODJFS on Friday, March 5, 2010. 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.