Ohio reports the nation’s largest decline in new applications for unemployment benefits, while the number of claims nationwide is mostly unchanged.

One day after President Obama touted a roaring stock market and a growing economy, WOSU visited a Columbus job fair to find out how the unemployed are feeling about securing a steady paycheck.

With unemployment rate hovering around 10 percent in Ohio, thousands are looking for work. A job fair attracted hundreds of Central Ohioans.

Central Ohio job seekers found help at local libraries today, and the programming went above and beyond the job help libraries usually offer.

The pre-employment background check has become more and more common – especially after the attacks of September 11th 2001. Most employers and workers see the value of the checks.

Job Services, Mental Health Agencies, and Food Banks through-out Ohio are combing through state budget allocations to plane for the next two years.

As the ranks of the unemployed swell, many new arrivals on the unemployment line turn to re-training. Ohio has a two-tiered re-training program that depends, in part, on community colleges.

A Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. spokesman says the company is laying off 480 people across the country, the latest round of job cuts by the Columbus-based corporation.