by J.D. Davidson
Ohio’s unemployment recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic improved last week but remains one of the worst in the country, according to a new report.
The state ranked 26th out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia last week, comparing data with the same week of 2020, according to a report from WalletHub, a personal finance website. That ranking was significantly better than the state’s position when compared with the beginning of the pandemic.
Ohio ranked 43rd in overall unemployment recovery from the beginning of the pandemic.
“Ohio ranks in the middle of the pack in terms of unemployment claims recovery in the past week but has one of the slowest recoveries since the start of the pandemic, with a drop in claims of just 70%,” WalletHub Analyst Jill Gonzalez said. “Compared to the same week of 2020, the number of unemployment insurance initial claims dropped by almost 75%, the 15th biggest decrease in the country.”
The state’s jobless rate fell to 5.1% in October from 5.3% in September, which matched the same rate of decline as the national unemployment figure, according to the most-recent numbers released by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. The U.S. unemployment rate stood at 4.6% in October.
The private sector created 20,000 jobs in Ohio in October, according to the state’s office of workforce development, with nearly every business sector adding jobs. Two key sectors were transportation and warehousing, where 4,100 jobs were added and supply chain struggles continued across the country. The leisure and hospitality sector in Ohio added 8,200 jobs during the month.
Georgia, Nebraska, Kentucky, Kansas and South Carolina were the states with the best improvement last week. Kansas, Florida, New Hampshire, South Carolina and South Dakota were the states with the best improvement overall since the beginning of the pandemic.
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J.D. Davidson is a veteran journalist for The Center Square with more than 30 years of experience in newspapers in Ohio, Georgia, Alabama and Texas. He has served as a reporter, editor, managing editor and publisher.
Photo “Help Wanted Sign” by Andreas Klinke Johannsen. CC BY-SA 2.0.
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