News
State Unemployment Rate Keeps Dropping
By: Associated Press
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Ohio's unemployment rate has dropped for the tenth consecutive month, though the national rate increased slightly.
The state Department of Job and Family Services said Friday that seasonally adjusted joblessness in Ohio decreased from 7.4 percent in April to 7.3 percent in May. The state's non-farm payrolls swelled by 19,600 compared with April's figures.
The national unemployment rate increased from 8.1 percent in April to 8.2 percent in May.
The number of unemployed Ohio workers dropped by about 5,000, from 431,000 in April to 426,000 in May.
"Things are heading in the right direction and that's great to see, but we're far from being out of the woods. Headwinds from Washington don't help and I remain concerned about our future progress. The best thing that can happen is for Ohio to continue pursuing the jobs-friendly policies that are tearing down barriers to job creation and for Washington to learn from our progress," said Governor John Kasich in a written statement.
About 6,400 jobs were added in manufacturing, which has been one of the sectors helping to drive the state's economic recovery. The state also saw gains of 4,500 jobs in professional and business services and 4,300 jobs in educational and health services.