The seasonally adjusted rate was 10.8 percent in August, down from 11.2 percent the previous month, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services announced yesterday.
In addition, the size of the labor force shrank last month. This likely means that some people stopped looking for work or went back to school, the agency said, neither of which are signs of economic health.
"I would not be surprised at all if that rate ticks up next month," said Brian Harter, spokesman for the agency.
He noted that some forecasters expect the Ohio rate to peak at about 11.5 percent.
Nonfarm employment was 5.1 million last month, a decrease of 30,100. The number of unemployed workers was 641,000, down 25,000. Those two factors combined for the small decrease in the unemployment rate.
Yvonne Jackson of southeastern Columbus is one of the many central Ohio residents looking for work. She was laid off last fall from her job as a payroll manager.
"I was upset for a sum total of one day," she said.
When she's not looking for a job, she devotes time to a small business, Ladies Church Hat Specialist. She and two other co-owners make hats, handkerchiefs and jewelry that they sell at craft fairs and farmers' markets, including the Pearl Market Downtown.
So far, the business has covered only her costs, but it has helped her keep a positive attitude about her job search.
"I haven't missed a beat," she said.
The national unemployment rate was 9.7 percent in August, up from 9.4 percent the previous month.
Ohio was one of eight states in which the jobless rate declined in August. Among the others were Michigan and Texas.
Michigan continues to have the highest unemployment rate in the country, 15.2 percent, and North Dakota continues to have the lowest, 4.3 percent.
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