Ohio jobless rate dips for 8th consecutive month

COLUMBUS (AP) — The unemployment rate in Ohio has dropped for the eighth straight month despite the nonfarm payrolls decreasing by 9,500.

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services said today that seasonally adjusted joblessness fell slightly from 7.6 percent in February to 7.5 percent in March.

The state saw gains of about 4,600 jobs in manufacturing and 6,300 in the trade, transportation and utilities industries. The leisure and hospitality, construction and educational and health services categories each lost several thousand jobs.

Nationally, the unemployment rate for March was 8.2 percent, down from February’s 8.3 percent.

The number of unemployed Ohio workers dropped by about 5,000, from 443,000 in February to 438,000 in March. Over the past year, the number of jobless workers has decreased by about 73,000.