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

Ohio's unemployment rate was 5.1 percent in October 2017, down from 5.3 percent in September 2017. Ohio’s nonagricultural wage and salary employment increased 4,300 over the month, from a revised 5,546,600 in September to 5,550,900 in October 2017.

The number of workers unemployed in Ohio in October was 296,000, down 9,000 from 305,000 in September. The number of unemployed has increased by 11,000 in the past 12 months from 285,000. The October unemployment rate for Ohio increased from 5.0 percent in October 2016.

The U.S. unemployment rate for October was 4.1 percent, down from 4.2 percent in September, and down from 4.8 percent in October 2016.

Total Nonagricultural Wage and Salary Employment (Seasonally Adjusted)

Ohio’s nonagricultural wage and salary employment increased 4,300 over the month, from a revised 5,546,600 in September to 5,550,900 in October 2017, according to the latest business establishment survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor (Bureau of Labor Statistics) in cooperation with ODJFS.

Employment in goods-producing industries, at 915,200, increased 3,000 over the month as gains in manufacturing (+4,200) outweighed losses in construction (-1,100) and mining and logging (-100). The private service-providing sector, at 3,863,100, lost 2,000 jobs. Employment losses in educational and health services (-2,700), leisure and hospitality (-1,700), professional and business services (-1,300), financial activities (-1,200), and information (-400) surpassed gains in other services (+3,000) and trade, transportation, and utilities (+2,300). Government employment, at 772,600, increased 3,300 as gains in local government (+4,400) exceeded losses in state (-800) and federal (-300) government.

From October 2016 to October 2017, nonagricultural wage and salary employment grew 59,400. Employment in goods-producing industries increased 12,400. Construction added 9,600 jobs. Manufacturing employment increased 2,900 in nondurable goods (+2,800) and durable goods (+100). Mining and logging lost 100 jobs. The private service-providing sector added 48,800 jobs. Employment gains in educational and health services (+17,900), leisure and hospitality (+17,500), financial activities (+6,400), professional and business services (+5,700), other services (+3,100), and trade, transportation, and utilities (+300) exceeded losses in information (-2,100). Government employment decreased 1,800 as losses in state (-5,600) and federal (-500) government outweighed gains in local government (+4,300).

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 http://ohiomeansjobs.com.

News release dates
A calendar of 2017 release dates is available online at http://OhioLMI.com/laus/releases.htm. County, city, and metropolitan area unemployment rates for October 2017 will be posted online at http://OhioLMI.com/laus/current.htm on Tuesday, November 21. November 2017 unemployment rates and nonagricultural wage and salary data for Ohio will be released by ODJFS on Friday, December 22, 2017. This information and the monthly statistical summaries it is based on are also available at https://jfs.ohio.gov/ocomm.

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