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Experts looking at the jobs landscape in Ohio have mixed feelings about how to present the picture, as job growth in some sectors is accompanied by less stable circumstances for others; and low unemployment is accompanied by worryingly low labor force participation.
First, the good news: Ohio's unemployment rate is 3.4%, compared with the 4.2% national average; and there is growth in fields such as engineering, data and coding, construction, plumbing, electrical and metal work. Health care continues to be a field facing worker shortages, too.
But the rest of the picture, according to a report by Spectrum News 1, is that other industries, such as leisure and hospitality, are struggling amid inflation and high gas prices. And some regions of the state are doing better than others. Central Ohio, for example, has developed opportunities for its residents that simply don't exist in other corners.
In fact, the conversation on that front appears to have pivoted from Gov. Mike DeWine's one-time vow to bring a large employer within commuting distance of every Ohioan to what amounts to acknowledgement that elected officials really don't know how to make that happen. Speaking at the Reagan Day Dinner in Marietta this week, U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, who is DeWine's former lieutenant governor and worked closely with JobsOhio in his previous role, told the audience large employers want a large workforce. For rural communities, he suggested small businesses should receive support for expansion through strengthened training at career centers and community colleges.
“We want to help support the small businesses that are here and grow them into big businesses,” Husted said.
Since January 2025 there has been a consistent month-to-month decrease in the number of Buckeye State residents either working or actively seeking a job. Among the reasons may be that willing workers do not have the education or training they need to fill available jobs.
"I think one thing that employers are going to be looking at is can they find trained workers for the jobs they have and making sure that our colleges, our community colleges, trade schools to continue to produce educated workers," Policy Matters Ohio researcher Molly Bryden told Spectrum News 1. "It's going to be crucial for Ohio's economic growth."
Fortunately, the Mahoning Valley does have a variety of quality career and technical education options. The question is, once students and trainees in those programs are ready to look for work, will they find it here?
SCRUPTURE
You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your possession; Lord, you have prepared the place for your dwelling; Lord, your hands have established the sanctuary. The Lord will reign forever and ever! Exodus 15:17-18 CSB