COLUMBUS – Ohio’s unemployment rate remained unchanged in July for the third month in a row, according to data released by the state Friday.
CORRECTION: This article has been edited to show that Ohio has added jobs in each of the last nine months.
The state’s jobless rate was 3.9% as Ohio employers added 7,000 jobs. The rate has remained at 3.9% since May as the state has added 9,000 jobs while witnesses a decline in participation in the workforce to 62.1%.
This was the ninth straight month of job growth as revised data showed the state added jobs in June.
Instead of losing 11,300 jobs as originally thought, seasonally adjusted figures showed Ohio gained 300 jobs.
The state reported to the U.S. Labor Department on Thursday that 6,227 Ohioans had filed claims for first-time unemployment benefits, a measure of the pace of layoffs, which was 21% lower than the week before. The four-week average, which smooths out volatility reflected in weekly figures, was 13.7% lower than the average of the four weeks that ended on Aug. 6.
Slightly fewer Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week as the labor market continues to be the strongest segment of the U.S. economy.
The number of Americans collecting traditional unemployment benefits increased by 7,000 the week that ended August 6, to 1.43 million. That’s the most since early April.