COLUMBUS – Ohio saw a burst of hiring last month, as employers added more than 20,000 jobs, dropping the state’s unemployment rate to 5.1%.
Employment increased by 20,100 in October, more than double the number added in September, causing the jobless rate to fall for the first time in three months, according to data released Friday by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
The state reported 5.381 million Ohioans were working last month, but 228,000 of the approximately 900,000 jobs lost in the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic have not been recovered.
The data indicates a large number of workers entered the labor force and many of them found jobs.
Last month’s biggest gains came in leisure and hospitality; trade, transportation and utilities; financial services and manufacturing.