COLUMBUS – Ohio’s unemployment rate edged downward in January as employers added nearly 15,000 jobs, foreshadowing strong hiring nationwide in February.
The unemployment rate in Ohio in the first month of the year was 4.0%, down from a revised 4.1% in December, according to data released Friday by the state Department of Job and Family Services.
The state has added jobs during 11 of the last 13 months.
Employers hired 14,800 workers during January, with nearly all of the gains coming in the service sector.
The number of Ohioans who reported they were working in January rose to 5.57 million.
US employers added a robust 311,000 jobs in February, a sign of a still-strong labor market despite interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve intended to cool down hiring and halt inflation.