Columbus, Ohio – Andrew J. Kidd, Ph.D., an economist with The Buckeye Institute’s Economic Research Center, commented on newly released employment data from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

“April was a disappointing month for job growth in Ohio. The state saw no net job increase in the private sector and March’s numbers were revised downward to only 1,200 new jobs created. Although the unemployment rate continued to fall to 4.3 percent, the labor force participation rate saw only a slight increase to 62.8 percent, which raises concerns that people searching for jobs have either stopped looking or left the state.

“Some areas of the economy did see job growth. The financial activities sector added 2,000 jobs, followed by the professional, scientific and technical services sector, which added 1,600 jobs. One area that draws the most concern is the trade, transportation, and utilities sector, which lost 2,400 jobs in April. As trade tensions with China increase, and job loss in this area of the economy continue, policymakers should be worried that new tariffs will do more harm to Ohio’s families and businesses. 

“As The Buckeye Institute has cautioned—and with another disappointing jobs report this year—policymakers must be wary about increasing government spending to dangerous levels and choosing to reduce taxes for only a few rather than adopting across the board tax cuts that would help grow the economy. As our report, Sustaining Economic Growth: Tax and Budget Principles for Ohio—and an updated brief that will be released on Monday—shows, holding the growth of government spending to match the growth in inflation and population and returning the government surplus to taxpayers through permanent lower taxes will lead to more jobs being created and will encourage more economic activity and business investment.”

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