COLUMBUS – Ohio’s unemployment rate remained at a 17-year low as nearly all of the 10,000 people who joined the labor force in May found jobs.
The jobless rate in Ohio for Ohio last month was 4.3 percent, unchanged from April, according to data released Friday morning by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, as private-sector employers added over 20,000 new jobs, powered by gains in construction; trade, transportation and utilities; financial activities and leisure and hospitality.
Governor John Kasich, whose policies have been criticized for producing anemic job growth, was hailed the increases.
“Stabilizing Ohio’s finances, cutting taxes, streamlining regulations, improving our workforce and helping more Ohioans get healthy so they can work—these have all contributed to the jobs-friendly climate that continues to produce solid results for Ohioans,” he said in a statement issued by his office less than an hour after the figures were released. “I’m optimistic that it’s a model that will continue to work for Ohio for years to come and it’s a road map for the next generation of leaders in Ohio leaders and the country.”
Kasich’s office claims the state has added more than 500,000 private sector jobs since he took office in 2011.
State and local government added 2,500 jobs to the total in May.
The state has added 30,000 jobs in the first two months of the second quarter, outpacing the healthy pace set in the first three months of 2018, which was the fastest growth rate for a first quarter since 2012.
The number of unemployed Ohioans increased by 1,000 from April to May but was 42,000 less than one year ago while the number of employed workers rose by 48,000.
The unemployment rate in May remained higher than that of the nation as a while, which was 3.8 percent in May, down from 3.9 percent in April.