Keep tabs on Ohio’s changing economy
Posted October 12, 2018 in Press Releases
New Policy Matters data page displays key economic stats at a glance
Policy Matters Ohio has launched a new workforce data page, featuring up-to-date and downloadable data on Ohio jobs, unemployment, wages and other workforce-related measures. The interactive charts will help reporters, advocates, policymakers, and concerned Ohioans who want to go beyond the unemployment rate and get a fuller picture of the Ohio economy.
“Ohioans are living in a divided economy,” said Hannah Halbert, project director for Policy Matters Ohio. “Focusing only on the top-line unemployment rate suggests that the state economy is booming when in fact many families continue to struggle. This data page provides readers with additional data points to consider when evaluating the health of the state economy.”
The page includes data on the share of working-age Ohioans who are employed. This rate, called the employment-to-population ratio or the E-Pop, is a key measure in understanding whether there are enough jobs for the number of working aged people in the state. Because the E-Pop includes all working-aged people, not just those who are actively seeking work, it lets us see beyond the unemployment rate to account for people who have chosen to leave work or given up finding it.
An interactive chart with annual wage data lets users compare wages of black and white workers, men and women workers, and Ohio workers to the national average, since 1979. You can download the data.
The page also features the state unemployment rate and total number of jobs. Users can track the Ohio statewide poverty rate and the child poverty rate, both of which have not recovered to pre-recession levels.
“We hope this new page helps more Ohioans understand how policy affects the economy,” Halbert said. “The Ohio economy can be one that works for all of us.”
The page is live at https://www.policymattersohio.org/research-policy/workforce-data.
Download datapagepressstatement.pdf