Ohio unemployment ranks second in nation for jobs lost

In the past month, Ohio has been losing more and more jobs, ranking the state second in the nation for having the largest drop in employment, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Most of the jobs being lost are in the service-providing industry, according to Helen Jones-Kelley, Director for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

"We are short of people possessing the skills, knowledge, and abilities necessary to do the new jobs," said Jeanette Davy, Professor of Management.

Ohio has a high drop out rate in high schools, and we have a small percentage of high school graduates continuing on to higher education, Davy added. This is one reason that Ohio's unemployment rate is increasingly soaring.

"People have to be diverse in their skills. They may be expected to do more than one thing," said Donna Tromski-Klingshirn, Professor of Human Services.

Not only are people not academically preparing themselves for work in Ohio, but we have also lost a lot of jobs, causing a higher unemployment rate.

"This state is one of the states extremely dependent on the automotive industry, as well as other traditional manufacturing. Just in the Dayton area, thousands of manufacturing jobs have been lost as Delphi and GM have cut back the past few years.

We have lost companies like Mead, who were bought out and moved out of the state," Davy said.

New jobs, such as high-tech industries, may help Ohio out, but these companies require more training and more schooling. Ohio's low rate of students entering college "is a deterrent to companies moving here," said Davy.

"Graduating students need to look at the trends for growth in the labor market," said Tromski-Klingshirn.

"I only had the opportunity to interview with three places in Ohio at the time I was looking; when I started looking outside Ohio, I did find more places in the same field of work in other states," said Roy Burton, senior organizational leadership major.

Fields that are currently growing include those dealing with math, science, and engineering. "The biggest problem is whether we can keep (these students) in the state, or will they go elsewhere, where jobs and pay are more attractive," said Davy.

The medical field, which includes practitioners (doctors and nurses), as well as researchers (biomedical engineering), is the fastest growing industry in the country, Davy added. These are a few things college students should keep in mind-whether or not their field is in demand. If so, they will have a much easier time finding a job in Ohio and elsewhere.

Dayton has a few new companies moving here, including those dealing with fuel cell technology, which "has the potential to generate a large number of jobs," said Davy. Still, Ohio unemployment rates will only continue to increase in the near future, Davy added. "The Ohio Department of Economic Development is predicting the loss of over 30,000 jobs over the next few years."