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 April 2026 jobs report from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

“In April, Ohio’s unemployment rate fell from 4.1 to 3.9 percent, significantly better than the national average. Although—as reflected in the slide in Ohio’s labor force participation rate—the drop in unemployment is primarily due to unemployed Ohioans no longer looking for work, and mirrors a similar decline seen in the national labor force participation rate.

“Even though more Ohioans exited the job market in April, 7,100 new private-sector jobs were added, more than offsetting the slight downward revision in the number of private-sector jobs added in March.

“Ohio’s labor force participation rate has gradually declined over the last 20 years. While numerous factors contribute to this decline, it is impossible to deny that the expansion of the social welfare state disincentivizes work. New federal requirements for programs like Medicaid and SNAP, along with recent reports of fraud and lax oversight, show that Ohio needs to reform and fix its safety-net programs to incentivize work and encourage more workers—particularly healthy adults—to enter the job market. Getting more Ohioans back to work can increase incomes, improve the job market overall, and save taxpayer dollars—a win, win, win for Ohio.”

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