Columbus, OH – Rea S. Hederman Jr., executive director of the Economic Research Center at The Buckeye Institute and vice president of policy, commented on newly released employment data from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. 

“After a strong October jobs report, Ohio enjoyed some more holiday cheer with another strong report in November. The unemployment rate fell from 5.1 percent to 4.8 percent and more workers returned to the job market with a small increase in the labor force participation rate. Although Ohio continued to lag behind the national numbers, November’s report is good news for the Buckeye State.

“The private sector added 11,300 jobs in November, continuing a year of solid job growth. The strongest jobs gains were in construction—which added 2,800 jobs—leisure and hospitality—which added 8,000 jobs— and science and technical services—which added 2,100 jobs. Hiring for the holiday shopping season was also strong as the retail trade sector added 1,200 jobs. Despite the good jobs report, some sectors lost jobs in November, most notably the durable goods manufacturing sector lost 600 jobs as supply chain issues and inflation on material costs continued to plague the manufacturing sector. Although Ohio is still down 180,000 private-sector jobs from its pre-pandemic level, the state’s job market is trending in the right direction.

“While Ohio has experienced two consecutive strong months of job growth, the state’s economic recovery is still fragile and is threatened by supply chain issues, high inflation, and vaccine mandates that could force employers—who are already struggling to find enough workers—to fire good employees. Even as Ohio helps businesses and workers, the federal government issues more mandates that could slow the recovery. State policymakers should continue to oppose this federal government overreach to ensure Ohio’s economic recovery remains on track.”

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