Unemployment rate falls in March, new claims hit five-month low
By Terry Troy
Ohio’s economy appears to be heading in the right direction. The unemployment rate fell to 4.7% in March while unemployment claims hit a five-month low in April, suggesting both an improvement in Ohio’s economy as well as a clampdown on fraudulent claims. ODOT has announced that it will invest $1.9 billion into 956 projects The 2021 construction program includes improvements to 876 bridges and 4,596 miles of pavement. Ninety-six cents of every dollar invested will go toward making sure existing roads and bridges are in good condition and as safe as possible. Four Ohio companies were featured on Fortune’s Best 100 Companies to Work for 2021. Nationwide (#25), Southern Ohio Medical Center (#28), Progressive (#40), and OhioHealth (#49), all made the list which features companies that employ at least 1,000 employees.
Our state ranked number 8 for State with the Most Pandemic-Proof Small Businesses by WalletHub. Unfortunately, the share of small businesses still closed in our state compared to January of 2020 just ahead of the pandemic stands at 30.4%. It’s the 21st highest percentage among 45 states examined, according to an online data tracker managed by Harvard University. A record 171,073 new businesses were created in Ohio in 2020 and another 16,025 business were created just in February, a 41% jump from January of 2020.
Hyland, a leading content services provider, has completed its acquisition of Nuxeo, a content services platform and digital asset management (DAM) provider. The successful acquisition brings the entire Nuxeo business, including products and technology, under Hyland.
Following Hyland’s acquisition of Alfresco late last year, the addition of Nuxeo reinforces the former’s commitment to cloud-native platforms and open source communities while expanding its global footprint with additional team members.
“We’re thrilled to welcome our new colleagues, customers and partners to the Hyland community,” said Bill Priemer, Hyland president and CEO. “With the addition of Nuxeo’s cloud native, open-source, low-code platform, Hyland is now the largest open-source content services provider in the market. The expertise the Nuxeo team brings, along with the innovative capabilities of the Nuxeo platform, strengthen Hyland’s position as the leader in cloud-based content services platforms and present tremendous opportunities for the organizations we serve.”
Royal Canin is making a $390 million investment to build a new factory in Lewisburg. Entrada Therapeutics is investing $116 million based on research at The Ohio State University. The Home Depot is hiring more than 900 part- and full-time positions in Northeast Ohio, while Kohl’s opened its sixth e-commerce fulfillment center in Etna.
Progressive Insurance reported a 32% increase in new premiums for March compared to the same month a year prior. Fifth Third Bancorp will be returning thousands of employees to offices within the next month as vaccine rollouts continue.
Let’s just hope things continue on the right track.
