Columbus, OH – Rea S. Hederman Jr., executive director of the Economic Research Center at The Buckeye Institute and vice president of policy, commented on newly released employment data from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. 

“The holidays arrived a little early in Ohio with a strong October jobs report that saw the unemployment rate fall from 5.3 percent to 5.1 percent and saw more workers return to the labor force. The decline of two-tenths of a percent matched the national decline of 4.8 to 4.6 percent, signaling that in Ohio, and across the country, workers are finding new jobs and filling the record-high openings.  

“The private sector created 20,000 jobs in October—with almost every sector adding jobs—and revisions to the September jobs report found that Ohio added 5,300 more jobs than initially reported. Manufacturing added 1,500 jobs and is up 3,000 jobs for the year. Two exceptionally strong sectors were the transportation and warehousing sector—which added 4,100 jobs as companies hired workers to address the country’s supply chain and delivery problems—and the leisure and hospitality sector—which added 8,200 jobs as more people started to eat out and attend public events as the Delta variant peaked. While job growth in October was strong, Ohio’s private-sector employment remains almost 200,000 jobs below its pre-pandemic level, and it is possible that some sectors may not reach their pre-pandemic employment numbers as businesses close or shift to needing fewer workers. 

“It is apparent that Ohio’s economy and how people work will look significantly different than it did prior to the pandemic. We are already seeing these changes in many areas. Workers have quit their jobs in record numbers, companies are permanently adopting policies such as remote work and flex time as workers demand more flexibility, and the future economy is going to be increasingly digital with online commerce, drones, and cashier-less payment expanding in retail stores. Ohio policymakers—at the state and local level—must get out in front of these changes to take advantage of these advancements. As more people work from home, local leaders must look for new ways to fund city budgets, and state policymakers need to move swiftly to restore Ohio’s leadership in technology and innovation to make Ohio a more attractive place to live and work.”

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