Amy Donahoe, Director of Workforce Development with the Chamber of Greater Springfield, said the falling unemployment rate is an example of Clark County continuing to see businesses hire and grow.
“We are seeing individuals becoming employed right away when businesses are hiring,” she said. “There is no reason for people not be working right now.”
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As of lately, Donahoe said the Chamber is focusing on tapping into the workforce within Clark County in order to keep residents working close to home.
“We have a lot of people living here but working outside of the area,” she said. “We are working on keeping people here and helping people find work closer to home.”
Bill LaFayette, an economist and owner of Regionomics, a Columbus-based economics and workforce consulting firm, said the unemployment rate for Clark County is good.
LaFayette said Ohio DJFS does not seasonally adjust or account for seasonal patterns that include summer hiring, major holiday hiring and school schedules. State and national figures are adjusted for those factors.
Statewide, Ohio’s unemployment rate dipped slightly to 4.4 percent, down .2 percent from February, according to the OJFS. The nationwide unemployment rate remained steady at 3.8 percent, continuing its downward trend.
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“If we are looking at seasonally adjusted numbers, unemployment still went down from 4.2 in February, to 4 in March,” LaFayette said about Clark County’s unemployment numbers.
In Champaign County, the unemployment rate was 3.4 percent in March, down from 3.8 percent in February.
Marcia Bailey, Director of the Champaign Economic Partnership (CEP), said the unemployment numbers for Champaign County are, “great news.”
“These numbers are great, but there is a flip side to this story,” she said. “The other side is that there are still jobs that need to be filled and companies that are hiring right now.”
Companies across Champaign County are looking to fill positions right now, Bailey said.
“We want people to understand that there are jobs available and we encourage them to come and see us,” she said. “We want to help everyone find their career.”
Clark County
March- 4.1
February- 4.6
January- 5.4
Champaign County
March- 3.4
February- 3.8
January- 4.5
Source: Ohio Department of Job and Family Services
The Springfield News-Sun is committed to covering changes in employment and the economy in Clark and Champaign counties.
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