Some of the year-over-year decline is due to job growth — an additional 4,100 Butler County people were working last month than there were in May 2014. Baby Boomer retirements, job seekers returning to school, and discouraged laid-off workers are also affecting the size of the county’s workforce, according to economists.
Unemployment rates do not consider people who are out of work and not searching for a job, and are based on results of a phone survey of households, as well as the number of people receiving unemployment benefits and population growth. Estimates could also be revised up or down later.
The unemployment rate in neighboring Warren County is 4.1 percent, down from 4.6 percent a year ago.
Overall, employment levels in the 15-county Cincinnati metropolitan area — which includes Butler and Warren counties as well as parts of eastern Indiana and northern Kentucky — has reached 1,044,800 people working. Likewise, the region’s unemployed sank year-over-year to 47,300 people, or 4.3 percent, who say they’re hunting for a job, according to the state estimates.
Ohio’s unemployment rate dipped to 5.2 percent from 5.7 percent this time last year.
The amount of residents working in the Cincinnati metropolitan has yet to return to pre-recessionary levels, when 1,061,300 were working in December 2007. The so-called Great Recession started in December 2007 and lasted until June 2009, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Find a job with Journal-News
Every Sunday, this news outlet reports on new job opportunities in the community including companies hiring, how to apply, training programs and other economic trends that can affect your job search.
Most recently, we told you the Cincinnati-based nonprofit hospital and doctor system Mercy Health has over 2,000 job openings, and will be attending several recruiting events this week and next. Get the details by clicking here.
Koch Foods Inc., a poultry processor and food product manufacturer in Fairfield, told Journal-News earlier this month that it had about 200 job openings due to the addition of a new production line. Today, the Journal-News learned from the company it has over 100 positions left to fill. And, Koch Foods is hosting a job fair from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. this Saturday, June 27, on-site at the manufacturing plant located at 4100 Port Union Road.
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