Ohio’s unemployment rate creeps upward, remains higher than national average

Ohio’s unemployment rate ticked slightly upward in July and remains higher than the national average.

According to numbers released Friday by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, the Buckeye State’s July unemployment rate stood at 5%, a slight increase from June’s rate of 4.9%. The Buckeye State’s July unemployment rate increased from the July 2024 rate of 4.3%.

Ohio’s unemployment rate was better than “That State Up North,” which reported that its seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 5.3% during July. Additionally, the Wolverine State’s labor force decreased by 5,000 during the month, according to numbers from the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget.

July’s national unemployment rate was 4.2%, which was also a slight increase from June’s rate of 4.1%, but unchanged from the July 2024 rate of 4.2%.

Additionally, Ohio’s labor force participation rate in July was 62.6%, a decrease from 62.7% in June and an increase from the July 2024 rate of 62.5%. Nationally, the labor force participation rate was 62.2%, down from 62.3% in June and down from 62.7% in July 2024.

“In a concerning sign, Ohio’s unemployment rate increased to five percent in July, and the labor force participation rate fell to 62.6 percent, indicating that Ohioans looking for work are not finding jobs,” Rea S. Hederman Jr., executive director of the Economic Research Center and vice president of policy at The Buckeye Institute, said in a statement.

“While the national job market is still performing better than Ohio’s, July’s national jobs report also saw a climbing unemployment rate and falling labor force participation rate,” Hederman added. “In fact, Ohio added only 1,800 private-sector jobs after June’s growth was revised slightly downwards, and the number of new hires is well below the hiring pace of the first half of 2025.”

State numbers reveal that nonagricultural wage and salary employment in Ohio increased by 5,400 over the month, from a revised 5.71 million in June to 5.72 million in July.

Meanwhile, in July, there were 296,000 unemployed Ohioans, a total that increased from 293,000 in June 2025. State officials reported that over the past 12 months, the number of unemployed Ohioans has increased by 41,000.

“Like the national jobs report, Ohio’s July report is weak, and policymakers must continue to adopt policies and reforms that spur economic growth and ensure the state can withstand an economic downturn,” Hederman said.

“Recent reforms—such as moving to a flat income tax and reforming energy policy—put the Buckeye State in a good position,” Hederman added. “However, more must be done to make Ohio more attractive to employers and workers. Reforming Ohio’s local governance structure and complex property tax system, as The Buckeye Institute outlined, will help control government spending and make Ohio a more affordable place to live and work.”

This week, the National Federation of Independent Business reported that Main Street business owners are experiencing improving conditions. The group reported that its NFIB Small Business Optimism Index reached 100.3 in July, a 1.7-point increase and slightly higher than the 52-year average of 98.

“Ohio’s small businesses are feeling more optimistic following Congress making the Small Business Deduction permanent and providing Main Street with lasting tax relief,” NFIB Ohio Assistant State Director Cameron Garczyk said in a release. “While hiring remains a significant challenge for owners, small businesses report better business conditions.”

Separately, Ohio Reps. Brian Lorenz, R-Powell, and Jennifer Gross, R-West Chester, introduced House Bill 395, which would require the director of Job and Family Services to launch an online process for employers to report people who do not show up for a scheduled job interview.

“The bill rewards professionalism. If you value employers’ time, this process is going to value you,” Lorenz told WCMH-TV. “And it just modernizes the employment process and it holds applicants accountable and it helps employers thrive.”

The station reported that the Department of Job and Family Services already bans people from receiving unemployment benefits if they are not making sufficient efforts to find a new job, including missing interviews or “ghosting” employers.

Unsurprisingly, not everyone was in favor of the idea.

“This bill is another answer, looking for a question,” Ohio Sen. Bill DeMora, D-Columbus, told the station. “It is something that’s not needed. I mean, there are procedures in line already for unemployment compensation.”