Ohio reports 7.0% joblessness in February, unchanged from January
by Z. Daniel Barnett - Published: March 22, 2013
According to Friday morning's release from the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services, the unemployment rate was 7.0 percent in February, unchanged from January. An additional 2,000 Ohioans said that they were looking for work last month, but the slight increase (from 399,000 in January to 401,000 last month) was not enough to move the jobless rate. The unemployment rate has decreased by 30,000 in the past 12 months. In February 2012, the statewide jobless rate was 7.5 percent.
The state's leaders have said Ohio's economy and its job market are getting stronger, though the process is slow. January marked the first time Ohio's monthly unemployment rate failed to decline or at least remain steady since July 2011.
The U.S. unemployment rate for February was 7.7 percent, down from 7.9 percent in January, and down from 8.3 percent in February 2012.
