Ohio’s unemployment rate rose once again in June, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Joblessness increased by 0.3 percent from the previous month’s 10.8 percent to 11.1 percent. During the same month in 2008 only 6.4 percent of the state’s population was unable to find jobs.
The national unemployment rate also increased 0.1 percent, rising from 9.4 percent to 9.5 percent. This is significantly higher than June of 2008’s rate of 5.6 percent.
Considering the rise in unemployment, it is understandable that employees in Ohio are feeling somewhat uninspired about the state’s job situation. According to a recent press release, Spherion’s Employee Confidence Index for the state saw a decline during the month. It fell 1.8 points from the previous month’s rate to stand at 45.6 points.
Every month Harris Interactive conducts the poll on behalf of Spherion to get an idea about how employees in the state fell about the security of their jobs and their ability to find another if necessary. In June the survey found that respondents have renewed fears about the strength of the economy and are pessimistic about the availability of jobs in their areas.
The survey found that 44 percent of employees in the state believe that the economy is still weakening. This was a 14 percentage point increase from the previous month. Of those who responded, 82 percent feel that there are fewer jobs available in their areas. The figure rose 9 percentage points between the end of May and June. Despite this, 41 percent reported that they were confident In the fact that they could find a new job if they lost their current one. This marked an increase of 5 percentage points from the previous month.
“Although overall confidence dipped some in June, we are still seeing more workers express optimism in their ability to find a new job, despite an increase in those believing fewer jobs are available,” said Robert Schulte, Spherion franchise owner in Ohio, in the recent press release. “While it is certainly encouraging to see an uptick in personal confidence, it is still necessary to note that the job market in Ohio remains a bit shaken by several consecutive months of state and national job loss. We remain cautious on using this indicator as a forecasting tool, however it is nice to see signs starting to point in the right direction.”
According to many experts, the economy will not start to recover until the last quarter of this year or the first quarter of 2010. Once news of a better financial situation makes it to the major news outlets, it is likely that there will be a rise in Spherion’s Employee Confidence Index for this state and others.
Tags: Job Search, jobs