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The
Columbus Dispatch
Ohio
unemployment rate: 6.9%
By Mark Williams
Although still high, a rate back below 7% could be a psychological
boost, some say.
Saturday November 17, 2012
Ohio’s recovery from deep recession has hit two milestones.
For the first time since the summer of 2008, the state’s unemployment
rate is less than 7 percent and the number of unemployed workers has
dropped below 400,000.
October’s jobless rate was 6.9 percent, down from a revised 7.1 percent
in September, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family
Services, which also reported yesterday that the number of unemployed
people in the state fell by 10,000 last month, to 396,000.
“It’s emotionally significant,” said Benjamin Johnson, a Job and Family
Services spokesman. “It feels good that the unemployment rate has
fallen below 7 percent. On the flip side, no one would be satisfied
with a 6.9 percent unemployment rate and 396,000 unemployed Ohioans.”
Daniel Meges of Chmura Economics & Analytics in Cleveland agreed.
“Psychologically, these are the kind of barriers in which we start
feeling more healthy than sick,” the economist said. “Six-point-nine is
still a lousy rate historically, but it’s in the realm of weak rather
than really bad.”
The report showed a labor force that grew for the second-straight
month, with 14,000 Ohioans finding work. Meanwhile, companies say they
added 13,900 jobs in October, a turnaround from the 12,000 jobs that
were cut in September.
The state’s unemployment rate, which flattened out over the summer, has
now moved lower for two straight months. Ohio unemployment rate: 6.9%
Although still high, a rate back below 7% could be a psychological
boost, some say.
Read the rest of the article at the Columbus Dispatch
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