Ohio Jobless Rate Increases In July

Ohio's unemployment rate ticked up slightly in July. But, the state's labor market remains a bit brighter than the national picture. After months of declines, Ohio's jobless rate increased two tenths of one percent in July to 5-point-7 percent. Department of Job and Family Services spokesman Ben Johnson says fewer people were able to find jobs last months. "The business survey showed about 12,400 fewer non-farm jobs. The household survey actually showed something very similar. It showed 13,000 fewer Ohioans working. It's not entirely unexpected that after half a year of very significant decline we would see a month where that decline would plateau or in this case the numbers would actually move backwards a little bit," says Johnson. Johnson says its uncertain whether July's unemployment increase is the start of a longer trend. Ohio's jobless rate remains about a half per cent lower than the national jobless rate. Manufacturers and professional and business services shed the most jobs last month.