COLUMBUS – Ohio’s unemployment rate remained at 4.9 percent in February, even though employers added over 12,000 jobs.
The rate was unchanged from January, and from a year ago, after dropping to a post-recession low of 4.6 percent in August and September, according to a monthly report released Friday morning by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
Employers added 12,400 jobs during the month to 5.5 million, but the number of unemployed workers was increased by 6,000 to 285,000, but remained lower than the 291,000 who reported they were not working one year earlier.
The state’s labor force has also seen steady growth since November, growing to 5.75 million in February, its highest level since Sept. 2011.
The U.S. unemployment rate for February was 4.9 percent, unchanged from January and down from 5.5 percent in February 2015.
The state added 78,700 jobs during the previous year, nearly all of them in the service sector, powered by gains in educational and health services and leisure and hospitality.
The service sector added 9,600 jobs, led by gains in trade, transportation, and utilities; educational and health services, and financial activities, while the leisure and hospitality industry continued to see declines. Government sector employment increased by 3,400 after dropping during the holiday season and the construction industry added nearly more than 2,000 jobs in February, offsetting losses in manufacturing.