Ohio unemployment rate continues rising trend

Ohio’s unemployment continued to rise in February, but other areas showed more positive job-related signs. 

The state’s jobless rate rose from 4.6% in January to 4.7%, higher than the national average of 4.1%, which is also increasing. Ohio’s figures continue a trend of rising 12 out of the last 13 months and have reached a level higher than at any point in the last three years. 

While the state’s labor force participation rate grew to 62.5% and passed the falling national average of 62.4%, analysts say slow growth in the last half of 2024 is pushing Ohio’s unemployment numbers higher. 

The report showed 25,000 new private sector jobs were added in the state in February. 

Ohio’s rising unemployment numbers come when newly released federal inflation data showed prices rose faster than expected in February, contradicting federal data from earlier this month. 

The Bureau of Economic Analysis released the Personal Consumption Expenditures Index, a key marker of inflation, which showed an increase of 0.3% in February, more than experts expected.