News & Press
Ohio Employed Crosses All-Time Record Last Set in 2000
This report is a summary of third-party economic research and perspectives to foster communication with business and economic development stakeholders.
Key Economic Insights
- Ohio: With 5,639,200 employed, Ohio has reached the most filled jobs in state history. Ohio’s unemployment rate declined for the fourth consecutive month to a record low of 3.3% in July. Cincinnati has been named a top 10 business climate by Business Facilities.
- U.S.: Industrial production increased by 1% in July. The Philadelphia Fed manufacturing survey posted its first positive reading following 11 months of contraction.
Ohio Employment & Economic Insights
Ohio continued its streak of unemployment rate declines for the fourth consecutive month falling to 3.3% in July, down from 3.4% in June, and again marking the lowest rate ever recorded for Ohio since reporting began in 1976. Nonagricultural wage and salary employment increased by 12,100 over the month from a revised 5,627,100 in June to 5,639,200 in July. This is the highest number of filled jobs in state history since records began in 1990. The labor force participation rate in Ohio was 62.1% in July, down from 62.2% June and up from 61.6% in July 2022.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has awarded $162.5M in Capital Project Funds for broadband infrastructure and multi-purpose community facility projects in Ohio under the American Rescue Plan’s Capital Projects Fund, bringing high-speed internet to tens of thousands of homes and businesses.
Business Facilities’ 2023 Metro Rankings Report has named Cincinnati as a top 10 business climate for a mid-sized city. The report also named Columbus as a top 10 logistics leader and a tech talent leader for a labor pool under 50k (#6), Toledo as a top manufacturing hub for a mid-sized city (#7), and Youngstown as a most affordable city with under 50k population (#7). A total of 130 Ohio-based companies were listed on the Inc. 5000 2023 list for fastest-growing private companies in America. The Ohio companies had a median growth of 166% between 2019 and 2022 and added 19,763 jobs.
TravelMag chose Lancaster and Yellow Springs as two of the top 20 most charming towns and small cities in the Midwest, as voted on by travel writers, photographers, and industry professionals. A report from Livability has named Parma (#35) and Cincinnati (#81) as Top 100 Best Places to Live in the U.S., based on the cities’ economy, housing and cost of living, amenities, transportation, environment, safety, education, and health. Gahanna was named the #1 Hottest Zip Code of 2023 by Realtor.com, based on market demand and number of days a listing remains active. A recent evaluation from CardRates found that Cleveland (#1) and Cincinnati (#10) were two travel destinations offering the most bang for your buck.
Forbes’ Under 30 Summit, presented by JobsOhio, will occur in Cleveland, October 8 – 11. The event will showcase key speakers including Bad Bunny, Kendall Jenner, Machine Gun Kelley, Rainn Wilson, and more, and feature a private concert headlined by Latto.
Ohio Company News
- Amazon has opened a new state-state-of-the-art 2.8M SF robotics fulfillment center in Dayton that will employ about 2,000 workers.
- DHL Supply Chain recently began construction on a 755,000 SF distribution center in Carroll. The expansion will add approximately 200 new jobs.
- Aunt Flow intends to invest $600,000 in an expansion in Columbus, adding 19 jobs.
- Rumpke opened a new $6.5M, 14,000 SF transfer and recycling center in Delaware.
- Kroger plans to expand distribution of Hamilton-based 80 Acres Farms fresh indoor-grown produce from over 300 Kroger stores to about 1,000 in the Midwest and Southeast.
- Nordson has acquired ARAG in Italy, a precision control systems and ag spraying components company.
- Theken Companies in Akron has acquired VisionAir Solutions from Cleveland Clinic. VisionAir creates patient-specific airway stents with its 3D-design platform.
- Ohio State Wexner Medical Center will study the differences between diagnoses made with and without the use of AI using the Paige Prostate Suite, the only FDA approved AI-powered pathology algorithm.
U.S. Insights
Retail sales continued to grow in July with U.S. retail sales rising 0.7%, which marks the largest increase in six months. U.S. business inventories were unchanged in June as companies continue to manage stockpiles in anticipation of weak demand due to higher interest rates.
Industrial production increased by 1.0% in July following declines in the previous two months. Capacity utilization rose to 79.3%, which is 0.4% below its long-run average (1972-2022). The Philadelphia Fed manufacturing survey posted its first positive reading after an 11-month straight contraction jumping to a value of 12 from minus 13.5 in July. The S&P flash U.S. services sector index fell to a six-month low of 51 in August from 52.3 in July suggesting a slowing market. Meanwhile, the S&P PMI manufacturing sector index fell to 47 from 49 remaining in the negative territory. Durable goods orders rose 0.1% in July after a 0.4% decline in June. Orders for all durable goods slid by the most since April 2020.
The Conference Board Leading Economic Index (LEI) declined in July by 0.4% suggesting a deceleration of economic activity. This marks the 16th consecutive month that the index has fallen. U.S. homebuilder confidence retreated in August after rising consecutively for seven months with mortgage rates nearing 7%. The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index declined slightly to 69.5 in August, down from 71.6 in July but still marking the second highest reading in 21 months.
Single-family homebuilding surged by 6.7% in July amid an ongoing housing shortage. Existing home sales decreased in July by 2.2%. Home sales have receded by 16.6% versus one year ago. Sales of new-single family U.S. homes increased 4.4% in July beating expectations. The U.S. labor market showed signs of strength/weakening as weekly jobless claims decreased by 10,000 to a total of 230,000 during the week ending August 19. Continuing jobless claims declined by 9,000 to a total of 1,702,000 during the week ending August 19.
For more information, contact:
Matthew Ellerbrock & Summer McVicker, JobsOhio Research