Figures released today show Ohio's unemployment rate in July reached its highest rate in more than a quarter century.
According to the numbers released Friday morning, 11.2 percent of Ohioans were unemployed last month. July also marked the twelfth straight month unemployment rose in Ohio. Brian Harter with the state Department of Jobs and Family Services says job losses slowed last month, but the 11.2 mark is still signifigant.
"Well you have to go all the way back to August of 1983 to see an unemployment rate at or above 11.2 percent, and during that month it was 11.2," Harter says.
Although the Ohio rate nudged up only a tenth of a percent last month, several industries shrank considerably. Manufacturing shrank by about 2,400 jobs. And construction also shed about 1,300 positions. Shaun Murray with the Associated General Contractors of Ohio blames that not on a deteriorating economy, but on stalled federal stimulus funds.
"I believe going into mid-July we were only looking at about six percent of those funds being dispersed," Murray says. "It's not having the direct effect that we wanted right out of the gate, but I think going forward we'll start to see some more things stabilize."
Murray says he's also spoken with contractors around the state who are moving jobs up to help put people back to work sooner.
There were other good signs for Ohio workers last month. Only 1,000 people lost their job; that's down from 15,000 in June. And state figures show employers in the leisure and hospitablity sector added 4,600 jobs, and education and health services added 4,000 positions.
Ohio's unemployment is still about a percent-and-a-half higher than the national average.
