Ohio adds 15K jobs in February

Ohio employers posted a net gain of 15,200 jobs last month — the second-highest statewide increase in the nation — while the February unemployment rate edged up to 5.1 percent from 5 percent in January, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) reported today.

The state jobs department also reported a significant revision to the January total, which was revised up by 5,200 to a net gain of 3,100 jobs, instead of a loss of 2,100 that was originally reported.

While unemployment was up that was mainly because 35,000 jobs-seekers entered Ohio’s labor force last month pursuing better opportunities in an improving job market, but were counted as unemployed until they actually found a job, according to Jon Keeling, an ODJFS spokesman.

“We were second in the nation in job growth, and our labor force skyrocketed, but that doesn’t mean we’re ringing any victory bells,” Keeling said. “There’s more work to do, and we’ll keep doing everything we can to grow opportunity so everyone looking for a job can get one.”

February job gains were led by employment in construction (+6,300) and manufacturing (+900), outweighing job losses in mining and logging (-200). Overall, the private service-providing sector added 9,200 jobs alone.

The trend over the first two months of the year represents a stark contrast to the sluggish growth that dogged the state in 2016, according to the left-leaning Policy Matters Ohio, which reported earlier this year that 2016 was the worst year for job growth in Ohio since the end of the 2007 recession.

“Today’s report is good news for the state. The real test is whether this is a blip or a real reversal of Ohio’s post-recession slog,” said Hannah Halbert, s researcher with Policy Matters Ohio.

Even with the strong showing in February, Ohio’s 12-month growth rate of 0.8 percent is half that the national average of 1.6 percent, Halbert said: “The state needs many more months like February to catch up.”

At least 294,000 Ohio workers remained unemployed in February, up 7,000 from 287,000 in January, according to the jobs report. The number of unemployed has increased by 9,000 from February last year, when the unemployment rate was 5 percent.

The U.S. unemployment rate for February was 4.7 percent, down from 4.9 percent in February 2016.

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