New business filings are up in Ohio, and the number of displaced workers seeking assistance because of trade-related job losses is down, suggesting continued improvement in the Buckeye State’s economy.

The number of individuals and companies filing to do business in Ohio last month rose by about 9 percent from at year ago to 6,665 in September, according to a report Monday from Secretary of State John Husted’s office.

Through the first eight months of the year, 66,734 new business filed to operate in the state, outpacing the number of filings during the same period last year by 3,708, the report found.

Meanwhile, the number of workers seeking aid through the federal Trade Adjustment and Assistance (TAA) program fell last year to its lowest level in six years, according to a separate report from Policy Matters Ohio, a Columbus-based think-tank.

The number of Ohio workers enrolled last year in the TAA program — which provides jobless benefits and training to workers whose jobs have been outsourced or eliminated due to foreign competition — declined by 78 percent from 2010 to about 3,000.

A continued rebound in manufacturing in Ohio, which has added about 48,000 manufacturing jobs since the end of the 2007-09 recession, accounted for some of the decline in workers filing for TAA assistance in 2011, said Policy Matter’s Hannah Halbert.

“We’ve had some increase in manufacturing jobs in the state, and that’s great news,” Halbert said. “But it’s not just manufacturing workers who are impacted by trade.”

Unless Congress acts to reauthorize current eligibility requirements, many service sector workers whose jobs have been outsourced will no longer qualify for TAA benefits beginning next year, said Halbert, whose organization is advocating for a permanent change to keep service workers eligible.

Still, the Policy Matters’ report underscores recent Conference Board findings that showed U.S. consumers are increasingly confidence about their job prospects and business conditions.

The report found those stating business conditions are “good” edged up to 15.5 percent from 15.3 percent in September, while those saying business conditions are “bad” declined to 33.3 percent from 34.3 percent. Consumers stating jobs are “plentiful” rose to 8.3 percent from 7.2 percent, while those claiming jobs are “hard to get” edged down to 39.9 percent from 40.6 percent.

The economy remains a critical issue in the upcoming presidential election, and recent improvement has helped President Barack Obama maintain a slight lead in the polls over his Republican challenger Mitt Romney, said Bryan Marshall, a political science professor at Miami University.

“Historically, what we know from past elections is that people’s perception of the economy is very important and tends to help the incumbent,” Marshall said. “There are a lot of voters right now who are looking positively into the future.”