Today we learned Ohio's unemployment rate is still stuck in the double digits - 10.3%.
This is the 16th straight month of where unemployment has topped 10%.
Overall, employment increased by 1,800. And, to be fair, private sector jobs seem to have increased slightly. This month by around 10,000. Only about 350,000 jobs to go, Ted!
So is that 1,800 net increase in job growth the reason Ohio's employment dropped ever so slightly?
Not so much.
When you look a little deeper into the unemployment report you find that 24,411 people completely left Ohio's workforce in July. That's the largest drop, by far, yet this year.
In fact, that's the largest drop since Ted Strickland became Governor.
Why is that significant?
These are people who have quit even looking for work. They have become economically inactive. They've become so disillusioned in trying to find a job that they've simply given up.
And when these people leave the workforce, they no longer count against the unemployment rate. It's as if they aren't even there.
Lucky Ted, eh?
Not really. While no one disputes a net gain is better than a net loss, from a political perspective these aren't numbers that are going to sway hearts and minds. Think Ted is going to hop on TV and brag about 10.3% unemployment? Didn't think so.
The other problem for Strickland is that unemployment is a very personal issue to people. No matter how much he may try to spin the realities of Ohio's jobs crisis, at the end of the day one in ten Ohioans who want a job can't find one.
These are voters' sons and daughters, neighbors and friends. And they are seeing and feeling the pain that comes with unemployment.
And that ticks them off.
So when Ted tries to tell them things are going well and to enjoy Recovery Summer, that clearly isn't going to really resonate.
And the news gets worse for Ted. These numbers aren't going anywhere for at least a month when the next report comes out. That means yet another four weeks of his opposition ripping him apart on the issue that matters most to Ohioans. And does anyone expect the next report to be significantly better? No, they don't.
If Ted thinks he still has a chance, it won't be because of Ohio jobs.
Never mind that the three States Kasich routinely says Ohio should model itself off of (Florida, Nevada, and Indiana) also have been stuck in double digit unemployment for just about as long as Ohio. Never mind that all three saw their unemployment rates go UP. Never mind that a month after Mitch Daniels was here campaigning with Kasich that his State was found to be SECOND in the nation in new unemployment claims.
ReplyDeleteJohn Kasich wants to model us after States that have been doing worse than Ohio during this recession and are still getting worse while Ohio is getting better.
This just proves that John Kasich doesn't have the slightest clue what he's talking about. He's praising two states with unemployment significantly worse than Ohio's. And Indiana is about to complete the trifecta before the election.
Manufacturing tripled from last month. Overall, private sector hiring accelerated.
We led the nation in job growth in April. The Federal Reserve Bank in Philadelphia found Ohio was the sixth fastest growing economy in the nation.
We're in recovery. You can badmouth it all you want for your political purposes, but it's happening now without John Kasich.
Bill Batchelder, the most conservative member of the Ohio House ever, publicly declares Kasich's signature income tax repeal DOA.
Kasich's JobsOhio plan is being assailed in the media.
It's starting to become unglued for you.
And just wait till you see what I've got coming in a few weeks...
Modern, you are hilarious. I bet Teddy would love to trade places with Governor Daniels right now. For one thing, IN has a balanced budget.
ReplyDeleteJust like Teddy and Obama, you keep talking like Ohio's economy is improving. You're making quite a spectacle of yourself. Also, just like Ted and Barry.
Its sad. So is this. IN auto parts plant reopens while sister plant in Ohio closes. http://tinyurl.com/27xnkg2
Nick-
ReplyDeleteSo does Ohio. It's required by the constitution.
Wow, one plant, and yet, Indiana is second in the nation this month in new jobless claims.
You can deal with anecdotal evidence all you want. But you can't get past the macrodata.
Modern, saying Ohio has a balanced budget is bunk. Everybody knows about the looming $8 billion shortfall.
ReplyDeleteTed had a chance to fix it by working with the legislature to cut spending and he chose to kick the can down the road and fill the shortfall with one-time "Obama money" instead.
Indiana doesn't have a multi-billion dollar hole to worry about because they dealt with their shortfall issue and controlled spending.
We are not in recovery. Jobs continue to bleed to other states with better business climates.
Nick-
ReplyDeleteYou couldn't possible be more wrong.
Strickland did something John Kasich has never, ever done, cut overall spending. Period. End of story. He's the first Governor to have done it.
Second, Strickland welcomed the Ohio Senate Republicans to come with him with a proposal of spending cuts they'd support in lieu of freezing tax rates... they couldn't agree on any.
Third, we are in a recovery. Our unemployment is below where it was a year ago. We've seen the private sector grow jobs every month, but one, this year.
While other neighboring States have seen unemployment stagnant or increase, Ohio has seen four straight months of decline in unemployment.
Private sector hiring is ACCELERATING in Ohio according to the jobs data.
For you to say we're not in recovery and we're "bleeding" jobs requires the suspension of all actual objective data to the contrary.
I know you hate Ted Strickland and all Democrats, but it's impossible to say that Ohio is not right now in the midst of an economic recovery this year. What you're saying is simply not true.
Every State that Kasich has compared us to (Indiana, Nevada, and Florida) has been doing WORSE this year in recovering from the recession than Ohio. Two of those States have had all year worse unemployment than Ohio and the margins from Ohio have grown even further.
Yep, look around and behold the recovery! Ohio companies are having trouble finding people to fill good-paying jobs.
ReplyDeleteSheesh man, there's a long way to go before anyone can say we are in a recovery. Its more like treading water after falling off a cliff.