The September and October, 2013 unemployment figures have been released. Recall last month the government
shutdown caused a delay in providing the September numbers. The Marion County unemployment rate for September,
2013 was 7.9% and for October, 2013 the unemployment rate decreased to 7.5%. For Ohio, the unemployment rate in
September was 7.4%, seasonally adjusted. The October unemployment rate for Ohio increased to 7.5% seasonally
adjusted. The October, 2013 unemployment rate for the six surrounding counties are as follows: Crawford: 8.3 %:
Morrow: 6.5%; Delaware: 5.2%; Union: 5.2%; Hardin: 7.2%; and Wyandot: 6.1%. All of the six surrounding counties
experienced a decrease in their unemployment rate from September, 2013 to October, 2013. Of note, the unemployment
rate for Marion County in October, 2012 was 6.9%. The decrease from September, 2013 to October, 2013 is a positive
step in the right direction. In terms of numbers, there were 26,800 people employed in Marion County for September,
2013 compared to 26,900 employed in October, 2013. The number unemployed decreased from 2,300 in September,
2013 to 2,200 in October, 2013. This would likely explain the decrease in the unemployment rate for the two months
from 7.9% to 7.5%.
Rushmore Academy in collaboration with Marion Goodwill Industries, Inc. and Marion County Job and Family Services
(MC&JFS) developed a job program during the 2012-2013 academic school year. The job program helps youth master
employability skills, participate in career and academic development activities that motivate them to stay in school, and
places youth in quality work experiences. They are now in the process of identifying work sites for our program. Serving
as a worksite, your organization will receive eligible youth whose wage of $7.85 an hour will he paid by a Rushmore
Academy/MC&JFS grant, administered by Marion Goodwill Industries, Inc. All youth participants will be reviewed for
job readiness prior to site placement and will have received an orientation on work skills, attitude, appearance,
communication and dependability. If you would like more information or would like to set up a time to tour Rushmore
Academy and learn more about the Rushmore Academy Job Program, please contact Anna Tinnerello at 387-2043.
2013 was a great year for Opportunity Marion (aka Marion Connections) which is our county’s One Stop Workforce
Development Center. Throughout the year, 173 businesses received workforce recruitment and development services
from the One Stop. The One Stop processed and screened over 7,600 applications resulting in 2,351 job seekers being
hired. Numerous Marion area businesses participated in Marion County’s On-the-Job Training (OJT) program, receiving
$101,746 in training grants for new hires. Opportunity Marion’s Resource Center received over 18,500 visits over the
past year from people seeking new or upgraded employment opportunities. Visitors received a variety of employment and
training services including employment and resume workshops, individualized web based employment searches, and other
customized offerings.
Coming soon: Marion’s One Stop will assume the name ‘Ohio Means Jobs – Marion County’ as part of a statewide
rebranding project. The project will unify all of Ohio’s One Stop centers under one brand while maintaining local service
delivery to employers and their prospective employees.
Business activity remains steady with a nice combination of prospects and existing companies expanding either through
hiring or through a physical expansion. In fact, we had one prospect visit Marion last week. At this point it looks like we
will visit 26 local companies in 2013. That is approximately 7 higher than in 2012. And why is retention & expansion
so important? Up to 80% of the job growth in a community is from the retention and expansion of existing companies.
That is a significant percentage.
Now for a couple economic statistics. National manufacturing output increased 0.3% in October after edging up 0.1% in
September. In the 12 months through October, factory production was up 3.3%, the fastest since December of 2012. The
Conference Board’s leading economic index increased 0.7% in September for the second month in a row.
HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON!