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In August, Ohio officials were thrilled to announce a record low unemployment figure for July. The 3.3% was also the third month in a row Ohio's rate was better than that of the country as a whole (3.5%). In fact, the figure was so wonderful that many couldn't help but toot their own horns.
"We are making history -- our formula in Ohio is working, and (the) jobs news is proof of that," said Gov. Mike DeWine.
Easy enough to say, but the reality is even a number that low places Ohio 30th for state unemployment rates, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. And, according to a report by the Cincinnati Enquirer, the state's labor force still has not recovered to its pre-pandemic numbers.
Labor force is those workers who are employed and those actively seeking work. Here, the Enquirer suggests, there may be approximately 100,000 potential workers who simply quit looking -- maybe because of age, maybe because they have become "discouraged."
And even if low unemployment figures are considered a rebound from the horrors of the pandemic, the Enquirer's analysis also found the average worker in our state took a 4.2% pay cut between 2020 and 2022. Given the impact of inflation, the average Ohioan makes what amounts to approximately $2,663 less per year at the end of 2022 than at the end of 2020.
In other words, being employed doesn't quite mean what it used to.
Ohio's economic growth has slowed, development comes in regional (one region, in particular -- the central area) bursts, workers aren't able to stretch their income as far as they could even just a couple of years ago, and 100,000 potential workers have simply dropped off the radar. The folks in Columbus can celebrate low unemployment numbers all they want. But the average Ohio family is going to hope they keep their celebration short, and then get back to work to make a real difference for all of us.