Demographic and Socioeconomic Characteristics
- The total population in Ohio increased from 11.56 million in 2015 to 11.68 million in 2020, or by 99,298 individuals. This represents an annual increase of 0.2%.
- The number of households in Ohio increased from approximately 4.59 million in 2015 to 4.72 million in 2020. This represents an increase of 132,142 households or an annual growth rate of 0.6%. Furthermore, the average household size in Ohio decreased from 2.46 individuals in 2015 to 2.41 individuals in 2020.
- The labor force participation rate in Ohio decreased by 0.3 percentage points from
63.4% in 2015 to 63.1% in 2020. However, the unemployment rate in the State of Ohio dropped from 8.2% in 2015 and 5.3% in 2020, representing a 2.9 percentage point decline. - There were 5.53 million jobs in Ohio in 2015 and 5.50 million jobs in 2021. This represents a loss of 33,143 jobs between 2015 and 2021. The total number of jobs in Ohio increased yearly between 2015 and 2019 followed by a loss of 325,237 jobs in 2020 and a recovery of 122,884 jobs in 2021. This means that jobs were recovering during 2021 but remained below levels prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. After adjusting for inflation, the average annual earnings per job in Ohio were $67,295 in 2015 and increased to
$70,472 in 2021. This means that average annual earnings in Ohio had an actual increase of $3,177 between 2015 and 2021 and equates to a yearly growth rate of 0.8%.
- The only industries experiencing a positive growth in jobs between 2015 and 2021 were the transportation and warehousing industry (55,665), the construction industry (24,216), the finance and insurance industry (21,978), the professional, scientific, and technical services industry (20,190), the health care and social assistance industry (4,152), the real estate and rental and leasing industry (2,030), and the unclassified industry.
- By 2031, the State of Ohio is forecasted to have 5.65 million jobs. This represents a gain of 147,492 jobs between 2021 and 2031 and equates to an annual growth rate of 0.3%.
- The industries forecasted to experience the largest nominal growth in jobs between 2021 and 2031 are the healthcare and social assistance industry (53,011), the accommodation and food services industry (51,660), the arts, entertainment, and recreation industry (27,674), the transportation and warehousing industry (22,695), and the other services industry (18,741). These industries had average annual earnings in 2021 of $67,977 for the health care and social assistance industry, $23,963 for the accommodation and food services industry, $47,792 for the arts, entertainment, and recreation industry, $68,379 for the transportation and warehousing industry, and $38,059 for the other services industry. The accommodation and food services industry and the other services industry had the lowest average annual earnings of all industries statewide in 2021.