COLUMBUS – Ohio’s unemployment rate fell to 5.0 percent in July, the first decline in six months and the lowest rate since 2001.
The rate released Friday morning by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services is down from 5.2 percent in June and the lowest since the unemployment rate reached 4.9 percent in October 2001.
Employers hired 14,900 during the month while the number of unemployed workers dropped by 10,000.
Since July 2014, 56,800 jobs have been added in the state, a statistic that has fueled criticism of Gov. John Kasich’s economic policies from groups that say Ohio’s post-recession job growth has lagged behind that of the nation as a whole.
Nevertheless, the state’s rate has been tracking below the national rate, which was 5.3 percent for July.
Government employment surprisingly contributed to most of the job growth with local and state government added 25,300 workers, according to a survey of businesses by the state and the U.S. Department of Labor.
Trade, transportation, and utilities also picked up jobs while much of the rest of the service sector slumped, due in part to a difficult summer in the leisure and hospitality industries who suffered from a rainy start to what should have been a busy season.
Manufacturing and construction suffered the highest job losses.