Employment trends and data

Employment rates

Ohio's labor pool of 5.6 million workers is among the largest in the country, exceeding the population of 30 states.
Ohio's unemployment rate stands at 8.9 percent as of July 2020. The national rate is 10.2 percent.

Private- and public-sector jobs data (Ohio Development Services Agency [ODSA])

Ohio's largest employment sectors are:
- Trade, transportation and utilities (18%)
- Education and health (17%)
- Government (14%)
- Professional and business services (13%)
- Manufacturing (12%)
Ohio's manufacturing workforce over 700,000, the third largest in the country.
Ohio has 716,000 public-sector workers.
Job gains have been the strongest in the education and health sectors, which have added 140,000 jobs over the past 10 years and currently employ 946,800 people.
Nearly 800,000 Ohioans work in health care and social assistance.
Four out of Ohio's top 10 employers are in health care.
Health care and health care support are projected to be the highest growth occupation groups through 2024.

Tax policy

Ohio has no state corporate income tax, inventory tax, personal property tax, tax on products sold outside of Ohio, machinery and equipment or R&D investments.
At 2.8 percent, Ohio's tax rate for new capital-intensive manufacturing is the lowest in the Midwest. This compares with Michigan, 9.7 percent; Indiana, 11.7 percent; Kentucky, 9.8 percent; Pennsylvania, 5.4 percent; and Illinois, 4.6 percent.
Ohio has a common-sense regulatory climate and a balanced state budget with more than $2 billion in reserves.
Ohio's business climate is ranked the third best in the country according to Site Selection (2019).