COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio’s unemployment rate continued its downward trend in April, falling to a six-year low of 5.7 percent, its sixth straight month-to-month decline, according to data released by the state Friday morning.
That is good news for Republican Gov. John Kasich, who is fighting for reelection against Democrat Ed FitzGerald, a race in which the state’s economy will be the biggest – if not the only – issue.
According to figures released by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Ohio’s unemployment rate was 5.7 percent in April, down 0.4 percent from March and 1.6 percent below the rate year ago.
The U.S. unemployment rate for April was 6.3 percent.
Ohio’s unemployment rate dropped from 6.5 percent in February to 6.1 percent in March, its lowest level in six years, a drop that a department spokesman attributed to the fact that more people were working and the size of the labor force shrank.
FitzGerald, the Cuyahoga County executive in Cleveland, argued that the rate decline could be attributed to Ohioans giving up on their job searches and said the governor’s policies work for only a few.
The rate has fallen steadily since October, when it was 7.5 percent and the state’s economy seemed mired down. Employers have added 100,000 jobs since then, including 12,600 last month. The state says 5.3 million Ohioans were working in April, according to a survey of businesses conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor.
The number of unemployed workers has fallen by 26,000 since March, to 328,000. The number of unemployed has decreased by 94,000 in the past 12 months, the department said.
The service sector added 6,800 jobs during April, mostly in trade, transportation, and utilities. Government employment, led by local government hiring, increased by 4,600 and manufacturers added 2,100 jobs.