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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2009 > November > 11
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Recession over but it doesn’t feel like it to Ohio workers
The economic recession is officially ended but Ohio continues to struggle with high unemployment and job losses, according to the latest monthly financial report from the state’s Office of Budget and Management.
The state’s unemployment rate slipped to 10.1 percent in September compared with 10.8 percent in August, but state officials estimate that many Ohioans have given up actively looking for work, which means they aren’t counted as unemployed.
What’s more, the median duration of unemployment hit a record high of 18.7 weeks. Between 1967 and 2007, Americans out of work typically went jobless for 7.1 weeks at a time. And of those unemployed in October, 55.1 percent said they were on permanent lay off. That figure is much higher than the 40-year average of 33.9 percent being on permanent layoff.
In September, 5,900 Ohioans lost their jobs. And between October 2008 and September 2009, Ohio lost 258,200 jobs, including 14,700 in the Dayton area.
Another indicator of tough economic times is Ohio’s Medicaid caseload, which now stands at 2.01 million. The state and federally funded program provides health insurance for aged, blind and disabled Ohioans as well as low-income families. September, when 22,211 more people were added, marked the 21st consecutive month of growth in the Medicaid caseload in Ohio.
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Voters prefer split control of state legislature
Ohio voters prefer split control of the state legislature, with Democrats controlling one house and Republicans the other.
In a Quinnipiac University poll released on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 52 percent said they favored split control, while 22 percent favored Republicans controlling both houses and 19 percent wanted Democrats to be in charge of both.
Currently, Republicans control the Senate while Democrats control the House.
In the poll, 47 percent disapproved of the job the legislature is doing while 33 percent approved and 20 percent didn’t know or provided no answer.
The poll was taken with 1,123 voters from Thursday, Nov. 5 to Monday, Nov. 9 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percent.
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Voters rate Sens. Voinovich, Brown about the same
Ohio voters gave about the same approval ratings to U.S. Sens. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, in a Quinnipiac University poll released on Wednesday, Nov. 11.
In the poll, 47 percent approved of how Voinovich is handling his job while 36 percent disapproved and 17 percent didn’t know or had no answer.
For Brown, 46 percent approved, 31 percent disapproved and 23 percent didn’t know or had no answer.
The poll was taken from Thursday, Nov. 5 to Monday, Nov. 9 with 1,123 voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percent.
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Ganley starts TV ads in Ohio — and not to sell cars
Republican Tom Ganley, a Cleveland area car dealer, launched a statewide television ad campaign in his bid to upset GOP favorite Rob Portman for the Ohio Republican Party nomination for U.S. Senate next spring.
The 60-second ad talks about Ganley’s ability to create jobs and his character, according to his campaign. Ganley owns 32 auto dealerships as well as finance and insurance companies that together employ more than 1,000 workers.
Portman, a former Congressman and Bush White House budget director, and Ganley will face off in a primary in May 2010. The winner will go against the Democratic party nominee — either Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner or Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher.
All four are vying to replace Republican George Voinovich, who is retiring.
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Kasich catches Strickland in governor’s race poll
Republican John Kasich has moved into a 40-40 percent tie with Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland in a poll of voters for the 2010 governor’s race released on Wednesday, Nov. 11.
The tie in the Quinnipiac University poll compares to a 46-36 percent lead for Strickland in a Sept. 15 poll.
“It’s obvious these numbers reflect voters’ views of the governor, not of John Kasich,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. “They don’t know who he (Kasich) is.
Nearly seven out of 10 voters - 69 percent - said they had not heard enough about Kasich to express an opinion about him.
In contrast, just 23 percent of voters said they hadn’t heard enough about Strickland to have an opinion about him.
Kasich is a former U.S. House member from suburban Columbus.
Here’s your chance to express an opinion on the race:
Strickland got a low score for handling the economy, with voters disapproving 52-33 percent. Also, 41 percent said Kasich could do a better job rebuilding the economy, compared to 33 percent who said Strickland could.
Also, 42 percent of voters said Kasich could do a better job of handling the state budget, compared to 34 percent who picked Strickland.
Strickland and Kasich both fare well with members of their own parties, while Kasich leads narrowly among independents.
Among Republicans, Kasich led 76-9 percent, about the same as the governor’s 76-10 percent lead among Democrats. Among independents, Kasich was ahead, 39-34 percent.
Another warning sign for Democrats - there was almost no gender gap in the poll. Women, who have been a source of strengths for Democrats, favored the governor barely, 40-38 percent, while men favored Kasich, 43-41 percent.
Brown said the poll, released nearly a year before the 2010 election, doesn’t mean Strickland is going to lose.
The race will be about Strickland’s record as governor but also “this is going to be a race to define John Kasich,” Brown said.
The poll was taken from Thursday, Nov.5 to Monday, Nov. 9 with 1,123 Ohio voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.
