Columbus, OH - The Buckeye Institute’s lead economist Orphe Divounguy, Ph.D., commented on newly released unemployment data from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

“This month, the number of job seekers—people entering the labor force—slowed to a standstill, with the Ohio economy creating 6,300 jobs, most of which were in the government sector.

“It is clear that job growth slowed, perhaps even faster than anticipated during the first half of 2017. By comparison, in May 2014, Ohio had already created 31,800 private sector job in the first five months of the year. In May 2016, that had fallen to 16,300 private sector jobs, and by May 2017, there have only been 3,500 new private sector jobs created.

“However, we shouldn’t worry yet. A deceleration of job growth coupled with low layoffs at the national level is not necessarily a dark cloud. This may just indicate that employers are finding it difficult to find suitable workers, which could benefit job seekers as employers could raise wages to attract the right talent. If layoffs had increased and hiring had fallen, it would have been terrible news for Ohioans and we would have seen an increase in the unemployment rate, which held steady at around five percent.”

# # #