Slower growth in Ohio and Pennsylvania, however, has not contributed to an obvious rise in unemployment rates . Further, many of the seasonal variations that caused wide swings in the states unemployment rates seem greatly attenuated. Pennsylvania s unemployment is now higher than both Ohio s and Kentucky s, a situation that reverses trends prior to the 1990 recession. Hourly earnings in manufacturing provide little evidence of a sustained slowdown. Ohio s nominal earnings growth flattened over the last two years, but the level remains high compared to the other two states.
Some unsettling news comes from manufacturing employment , which has fallen in all three states.
In Ohio and Kentucky, manufacturing as a share of total employment actually increased during early 1995.