Staff report and press release
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The state’s labor market is running ahead at full steam heading into the holidays and that was treated as a present by Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

The latest report from the U.S. Department of Labor recognized Ohio as a national leader in job creation for the month of October, with a gain of 36,300 private sector jobs.

kasich at bucyrus ge“Our efforts to make Ohio more attractive to job creators are paying off, and it’s great to be recognized as one of the top states for jobs growth. Most important, the nearly 380,000 private sector jobs Ohioans have added are helping families get stronger, more hopeful and more secure. While our economy is stronger today and more diversified, we still have more work to do to reach our full potential, and we must continue to find new ways to make even more progress.”

A report released Friday from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services indicate those new jobs helped drop Ohio’s unemployment rate to 4.4 percent for the month, better than the 4.5 percent posted in September. That report in its entirety is shown below.

Ohio and U.S. Employment Situation (Seasonally Adjusted)
Ohio’s unemployment rate was 4.4 percent in October 2015, down from 4.5 percent in September. Ohio’s nonagricultural wage and salary employment increased 30,800 over the month, from a revised 5,396,400 in September to 5,427,200 in October 2015.

The number of workers unemployed in Ohio in October was 249,000, down 5,000 from 254,000 in September. The number of unemployed has decreased by 51,000 in the past 12 months from 300,000. The October unemployment rate for Ohio was down from 5.2 percent in October 2014.

The U.S. unemployment rate for October was 5.0 percent, down from 5.1 percent in September and down from 5.7 percent in October 2014.

Total Nonagricultural Wage and Salary Employment (Seasonally Adjusted)
Ohio’s nonagricultural wage and salary employment increased 30,800 over the month, from a revised 5,396,400 in September to 5,427,200 in October 2015, according to the latest business establishment survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor (Bureau of Labor Statistics) in cooperation with ODJFS.

Goods-producing industries, at 895,800 added 11,500 jobs over the month. Job gains in construction (+5,800) and manufacturing (+5,800) outweighed job losses in mining and logging (-100). The private service-providing sector, at 3,773,700, added 24,800 jobs in educational and health services (+8,300), leisure and hospitality (+7,000), professional and business services (+3,500), trade, transportation, and utilities (+2,900), financial activities (+2,400), and other services (+700). Information did not change over the month. Government employment, at 757,700 lost 5,500 jobs in local (-4,800) and state (-700) government. Federal government employment did not change over the month.

From October 2014 to October 2015, nonagricultural wage and salary employment grew 77,400. Goods-producing industries added 12,300 jobs. Manufacturing added 15,200 jobs in nondurable goods (+7,800) and durable goods (+7,400) surpassing over-the-year losses in construction (-1,500) and mining and logging (-1,400). Private service-providing employment increased 66,200. Gains were seen in all industries: trade, transportation, and utilities (+18,900), educational and health services (+17,400), leisure and hospitality (+14,200), financial activities (+8,300), professional and business services (+3,500), other services (+2,500), and information (+1,400). Government employment decreased 1,100 as losses in federal (-1,200) and state (-700) government exceeded gains in local government (+800).