Columbus, OH – 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.

“For five straight months, Ohio’s labor market has continued to show strong signs of recovery from the Great Recession. Since October 2016, Ohio’s unemployment rate has fallen or remained steady and was 4.3 percent in May 2018. Despite the national unemployment rate falling to 3.8 percent, Ohio’s labor force participation rate (62.8) was slightly higher than the national rate (62.7), showing a strengthening labor force, which continues to see job seekers finding good paying jobs. All of this shows positive signs for Ohioans.

“With 20,100 new non-farm, private-sector jobs added this month, Ohio’s workforce has added more than 58,000 jobs this year alone. While construction jobs were a large component of this growth (12,900 jobs), manufacturing had the least growth, and could be harmed further by the Trump Administration’s recently implemented tariffs. These protectionist policies have shown to hurt local economies and Ohio’s national lawmakers need to ensure Ohioans in these industries are not harmed by such isolationist policies.

“Governor Kasich’s tax cuts and policies, combined with the recently implement federal tax reform, have exhibited positive effects on Ohio’s economy with a falling unemployment rate and strong job growth. These pro-growth policies, designed for both Ohio’s workers and producers, will continue this trend and bring economic prosperity to the Buckeye State.”

# # #