State “job numbers are an encouraging sign of continued recovery for Ohio, following on a spectacular jobs report for the U.S. earlier this month,” Michael Shields, a researcher with liberal-leaning Policy Matters Ohio, said earlier this month.
The Dayton region created just 100 jobs in July, recovering the 100 jobs it lost in June, according to preliminary, seasonally adjusted U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Credit: JIM NOELKER
After two strong months of growth in April and May, the Dayton metro area’s job market has been stuck in neutral for two months.
This is a concern because the region still hasn’t recouped thousands of jobs that were wiped out early in the pandemic.
The metro area includes Montgomery, Miami and Greene counties.
Employment in the Dayton region recently peaked at 394,500 jobs in February 2020, said Monica Jones, Dayton’s director of procurement, management and budget.
But the region lost 61,400 jobs in March and April of 2020, during a time of COVID-19 stay-at-home orders and business shutdowns. Employers shed about 15.6% of the local job base, Jones said.
The region still needs to create 10,600 new jobs to return local employment to pre-pandemic levels.
The three-county area added back about 5,200 jobs last year and has gained back another 5,400 this year. But unless hiring picks up, it could still take a long time to reach a full jobs recovery.
Also, there are economic threats that could hurt the labor market, like inflation or the Federal Reserve’s attempts to get cost escalations under control, as well as the possibility of a recession.
Ohio saw tiny job growth in May and June, and then employment only grew 0.1% in July.
By comparison, the U.S. added about 528,000 new jobs last month, which was an unexpectedly strong performance, especially given uncertainty about inflation and economic headwinds.
The national economy has now added back all of the jobs it lost early in the pandemic.
Ohio has restored 85% of the jobs that were slashed because of COVID-19, and it still needs to create about 129,800 more to return to February 2020 payroll levels, said Policy Matters Ohio.
Nearly 98% of statewide private sector jobs that were lost have been recouped, but less than 17% of government jobs that were eliminated have been recovered, the group said.
“Public employment is dragging, despite increased federal investments and increased public need for the kinds of services public employees provide, from treating illness to teaching our children,” Shields said.
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