Rea S. Hederman Jr., the executive director of the Economic Research Center and vice president of policy at The Buckeye Institute, provided insights on the latest jobs report from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
According to Hederman, "While Ohio’s unemployment rate climbed in April—up from 4.8 to 4.9 percent—this increase is due to more Ohioans looking for work as seen in the labor force participation rate, which increased to 62.7 percent up from 62.6." He noted that despite the rise in unemployment, Ohio's labor force participation rate surpasses the national average, though its unemployment rate remains higher than the national average of 4.2 percent.
The report highlighted that "Ohio’s private sector added 20,900 new jobs in April," effectively compensating for a minor downward revision of 2,500 jobs in March's figures. With this addition, Ohio's private sector employment growth averages 15,000 new jobs per month for the year so far, indicating robust hiring intentions among businesses throughout 2025.
Hederman attributed part of this growth to recent legislative actions: "Ohio policymakers have adopted strong pro-growth reforms—most recently reforms to the state’s energy market—which will keep Ohio’s job market competitive nationally and globally." He explained that by reducing regulations on energy infrastructure and removing costly subsidies through House Bill 15, Ohio aims to attract more advanced manufacturing plants and technology companies.
These efforts are expected to create additional employment opportunities for workers across the state.