Ohio added 12,400 jobs in February, a sign that the state’s economy is moving forward. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.9%.

“The February jobs report has great news for Ohio as thousands of people entered the labor force and found jobs,” says Rea S. Hederman, Jr., executive vice president of The Buckeye Institute.

The fact that the unemployment rate didn’t change — despite an increase of 6,000 in the number of unemployment — is a powerful signal of improving economic health in Ohio.

A total of 34,000 Ohioans entered the labor force last month. Of those, 28,000 got jobs and 6,000 are still looking. Many Ohioans, once too discouraged to even look for work, have rejoined the labor force. That employment optimism is very good news, even though returning job seekers are counted as unemployed while they look for work.

“The labor force participation rate jumped up to the national average while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.9%. This means that the labor market is creating enough new job opportunities to meet the surge of new workers,” Hederman says.

Ohio’s labor force participation rate was 62.9% in February, up 0.2 percentage points. The rate is the highest in two years and now comparable the U.S. average. The labor force participation rare measures the portion of people over 16 who are working or looking for work.

Many of these new jobs are in the service and real estate sectors, Hederman notes.