Ohio’s unemployment rate rose to 7.2 percent in June from 7 percent in May as the state lost the second-highest number of jobs in the nation.
Ohio employers, including local governments, cut 12,500 jobs, the second-most in the country last month, after the state added a U.S.-best 32,100 jobs in May, according to the latest federal data officially released Friday. (The federal government accidentally released jobs data on Thursday.)
Only Tennessee lost more jobs — 16,500 — in May. New York lost the third largest number of jobs at 11,400. California added the most jobs, 30,200, with Pennsylvania adding the second most jobs, 19,100.
Ohio’s unemployment rate remained below the national average of 7.6 percent and was down from 7.3 percent a year ago.
Nationally, jobs increased in 37 states while falling in 12 and in Washington, D.C. Arkansas was unchanged. Nevada had the nation’s highest unemployment rate at 9.6 percent. North Dakota had the lowest unemployment rate, 3.1 percent.
Wide swings between job losses and gains have been a pattern this year.
“Ohio is not the only state where this is happening,” said Ben Johnson, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
The 7.2 percent unemployment rate is Ohio’s highest since last August.
Ohio’s job growth rate is lower this year than in 2012.
The group Policy Matters Ohio called the latest employment report “discouraging” and said it is important to focus on long-term trends, not month-to-month changes.
“The bigger concern ... is that Ohio has added only 16,000 jobs over the last 12 months [June 2012 to June 2013], a very slow 0.3 percent growth rate,” the Cleveland and Columbus based institute said. “Overall, the recovery remains weak.”
Ohio needs to add 216,700 jobs to get back to pre-recession levels but has added 158,000 jobs over the last four years, Policy Matters Ohio said.
“We need investment in our communities to get back on track,” the organization said in a statement. “The state policy of austerity is not generating the promised job growth.”
Even though groups have called the June jobs figures disappointing, there are many job openings in the greater Akron area that need to be filled, said Mark D’Agostino, president of temporary staffing agency Alliance Solutions Group of Akron.
“A great many companies, large, small, medium, are hiring,” D’Agostino said. “In our Akron business, there are jobs available.”
His firm, which has offices on West Market Street in Fairlawn, has clients looking for clerical and office help, general labor including assembly, warehousing and shipping, as well as skilled manufacturing positions, he said.
Alliance Solutions works to “help motivated people get gainful employment with great companies,” he said.
The jobs market now is not as robust as it was in May but area businesses are still looking to hire, D’Agostino said. “They are a little more picky about who they are bringing in,” he said. In addition, businesses are running more efficiently now than they were compared to the pre-Great Recession years of 2006 and 2007, he said.
There is high demand among area manufacturers for skilled positions such as welders and technicians, D’Agostino said. “They are starved for those folks.”
He said he does not try to over-analyze the regular employment reports and news stories.
“There are some great people out there. They just don’t know how to look for a job. They get sad and depressed,” D’Agostino said. “We tell these folks, there are opportunities out there. If you keep pushing it, we can help you get a job.”
George Zeller, Cleveland-based economic research analyst, said government needs to do more to add jobs. He described the Ohio information in the latest jobs release as “broadly negative.”
Government cuts are largely responsible for the slow jobs growth, based on a drop of 7,100 jobs in local governments, 2,000 fewer federal jobs and 300 fewer state jobs from June 2012 to June 2013, Zeller said.
The state counted 5,201,500 people as working in June compared to 5,214,000 in May. The number of people counted as unemployed in June was 413,000, up from 405,000 in May.
The jobs figures do not include people who have stopped looking for work but want a full-time job or people working part-time and want full-time work.
Jobs in goods-producing industries totaled 853,600, down 5,100 from May. Manufacturing jobs dropped 3,100; construction lost 1,900’, and mining and logging dropped 100.
Service industry jobs fell by 3,700 to 3,598,300 in June. Educational and health services fell 3,000; information jobs dropped 800; professional and business services were down 700; trade, transportation, and utilities fell 300; and financial activities jobs were down 300. Leisure and hospitality added 1,400 jobs.
Ohio’s labor force increased by 6,000 people, indicating that people might be regaining enough confidence in the economy to resume looking for work.
The number of workers unemployed in Ohio in June was 413,000, up from 8,000 from 405,000 in May.
The Associated Press contributed to this story. Jim Mackinnon can be reached at 330-996-3544 or jmackinnon@thebeaconjournal.com.