Ohio’s unemployment rate fell to 6.8 percent and the number of jobs grew by 1,600 in November, according to surveys released today by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
 
“Ohio’s job market is moving in the right direction,” said Hannah Halbert, workforce researcher at Policy Matters Ohio. “But the state still has a long way to go, and inaction at the federal level could put our recovery in jeopardy.”
 
The monthly JobWatch report by Policy Matters shows that gridlock at the federal level could put Ohio’s modest gains at risk. A federal program providing extended benefits to long-term unemployed is set to expire if Congress does not act by the end of the year; the program paid more than $788 million to jobless Ohioans in the first nine months of 2012. At the same time, Ohio’s job training programs will lose $22.8 million in 2013 if Congress and the Obama administration do not reach agreement on across-the-board cuts scheduled to begin January 2.
 
“Over the last 12 months, the state has added 100,000 jobs