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

“There were no Christmas surprises in Ohio’s November jobs report. The unemployment rate remained steady at 3.6 percent, and the labor force participation rate remained flat at 62 percent. This contrasts with the national picture, which saw the unemployment rate decline from 3.9 to 3.7 percent.

“Ohio employers hired 5,300 fewer Ohioans in November. While not exactly a lump of coal, Ohio’s job market has slightly cooled in the last few months of the year, and in 2024, policymakers will return to Columbus facing a job market weaker than the first half of 2023. To ring in the New Year, lawmakers will need to focus on further reforms to Ohio’s tax system and modernizing the state’s economic system.”

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