OHIO — Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said data released from the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services shows a historical achievement for the state.
The data showed that Ohio has filled the most jobs in the state’s history, with a total of 5,639,200 jobs filled.
“Ohio is the heart of opportunity, and today, we are making history,” said DeWine in a news release. “We have yet another record low unemployment rate in July at 3.3%, below the national rate of 3.5%. Our formula in Ohio is working, and today’s jobs news is proof of that.”
Ohio’s unemployment rate has been below the nationwide rate since May, when it was at 3.6%; the country’s rate was 3.7% at that time. By reaching 3.3%, Ohio now has the lowest unemployment rate since 1976, when reporting unemployment began.
According to the Department of Jobs and Family Services’ report, nonagricultural wage and salary employment increased by 12,100 jobs from June to July, rising from 5,627,100 to 5,639,200.
This is also the highest payroll employment reported since the unemployment reporting series started in 1990.
“The importance of these numbers is the great career opportunities they represent for the people of Ohio,” said Husted in a news release. “We’ve had six months in a row that our unemployment rate has been below 4 percent, and we have gained 67,700 private sector jobs in the first seven months of 2023. A growing economy is important for more than economic reasons—it allows our children and grandchildren to have great career opportunities without ever leaving Ohio.”
From June to July, the number of unemployed decreased from 228,000 to 194,000.
County, city and metropolitan area unemployment rates for July 2023 will be posted online Tuesday, Aug. 22.
In June, Cuyahoga County reported a 4.7% unemployment rate while Hamilton County reported 3.4%. Franklin County reported a 3.3% rate and Montgomery County reported 4%. Several counties reported 4.8% unemployment, but Athens County and Meigs County had the highest rates of 5.2% and 5.3%, respectively.