FitzGerald Campaign Communications Director Daniel McElhatton released the following statement on the March jobs report.

“This jobs report demonstrates that Governor Kasich’s policies only work for a select few. Half the ‘decrease’ in unemployment over the last year is due to Ohioans simply giving up on their job search. Industries that support middle class families like manufacturing, utilities, trade and transportation lost a collective 11,900 jobs in March alone. The Governor’s plan to fund tax cuts for the wealthy by raising taxes on the middle class and seniors simply does not work. Ed FitzGerald realizes that in order to create a strong stable economy, we have to build our economy from the middle out, not the top down.”

FACT CHECK:  Ohio only regained 600 of the 2,300 jobs it lost in February, and lost 3,500 lost jobs in manufacturing. Trade, transportation and utilities also lost 4,900 jobs and local government jobs decreased by another 3,500. [Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4/18/2014]

Small and Mid-Size Businesses Not Hiring: “Ohio’s small and medium-size businesses are feeling more confident these days — but not enough to start adding employees, according to a report by PNC Bank. The Pittsburgh-based bank’s spring survey, released this morning, found that 48 percent of business owners expect sales to increase and 37 percent say profits will go up in the next six months.” [Dispatch, 4/3/2014]

JobsOhio Admits Job Growth is “Slower-than-Desired”: “The head of JobsOhio acknowledged that the state’s private economic development corporation had seen slower-than-desired growth in new jobs last year but said deals in the pipeline it has not yet completed will boost the numbers for 2014 ‘Some of our numbers were slightly down,’ JobsOhio president John Minorsaid in a meeting with Business Courier staffers.” [Cincinnati Business Courier, 3/28/2014]