15: Led by Will Petrik, the Policy Matters team looked at 15 key indicators to see how Ohio families are doing compared to those in other states. In most, our state performs below average. Our Ohio’s Family Budget paper lays out a variety of ways Ohio lawmakers can use the 2024-25 state budget to improve life for Ohio families. (ICYMI: Hannah Halbert was on WOSU’s All Sides with Ann Fisher this week to talk about how lawmakers should spend Ohio’s budget surplus)

9.1%: As Ohioans prepare to advocate for their state budget priorities, Guillermo Bervejillo, Ph.D. reminds us that we need to account for inflation, which hit 9.1% last June. Without accounting for inflation, we can’t have a good sense of how funding has changed over time. Check out his blog, which includes a handy tool for anyone who wants to adjust for inflation.

41,200: Ohio has 41,200 fewer public sector jobs than it did pre-COVID, according to this month’s JobWatch. Michael Shields says state and local government officials’ failure to restore 41,200 jobs is a significant drag on Ohio’s recovery from the pandemic recession. The Fed’s rapid interest rate hikes have made recovery even tougher. Although Ohio added jobs last month, that was offset by a downward revision for November.

54,000: That’s how many parents are illegally paid less than the minimum wage every year in Ohio. Wage theft is a major problem, which is why it was encouraging to see Cleveland join other Ohio cities in passing an ordinance to hold shady employers accountable. In a Cleveland.com op-ed, Ali Smith and Daniel Ortiz said now the city needs to back up the new protections with funding.

100+: That’s how many cities and counties across the country — including Columbus, Cincinnati, and Dayton — that offer paid leave for municipal workers. Cleveland is noticeably absent from that list. Abby Westbrook of Social Venture Partners wrote an op-ed in Cleveland.com urging city officials to change that.