The unemployment rate went up slightly from May to June in all 88 Ohio counties, but employment in some key Ohio industries is holding.
Lockwood Reynolds, an economics professor at Kent State University, says the 0.2 percent increase in Ohio’s June unemployment is negligible.
Reynolds also says employment in service sectors such as health care is doing well in Ohio and manufacturing is holding steady.
According to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, nearly 20,000 more people in the Cleveland metropolitan area were looking for or getting jobs in June compared to May. Reynolds says that affects the numbers.
“They’re looking, that’s a good thing, but they haven’t found anything yet, that’s a bad thing," Reynolds says. "So any time the participation rate goes up, that’s a good thing overall, but it’s going to tend to make the unemployment rate number look worse.”
Reynolds says new college grads entering the job market after graduation could also be raising the unemployment rate.