Saturday Stats

For the 26th Labor Day in a row, Policy Matters is releasing our State of Working Ohio report (fondly known as SOWO around the office). This year’s theme is The Costs of Inaction — as in, the consequences of legislators’ ongoing failure to act in the best interests of working people. Of course, policymakers have options for correcting course. That’s why each chapter of SOWO 2026 also includes policy recommendations for any legislators willing to step up — and for which the rest of us can advocate all year round.

This year’s SOWO also includes a section on “The Human Cost of Inaction,” featuring a series of interviews with Ohioans about their experiences in the workforce. It’s a good reminder that legislators should never lose sight of the real people their decisions impact.

$1.42B: Amount Ohio workers would gain in additional annual wages if the state raised its minimum wage to $15 by 2030. The move would increase pay for roughly 616,700 Ohio workers, including those directly affected and others who would benefit from ripple effects through the labor market. As we show in SOWO Part 1: Minimum Wage, Ohio’s current $11 minimum leaves a full-time worker earning just $22,880 a year, below the federal poverty guideline for a family of three and too little to cover the cost of living in any Ohio county. Our legislators can change that by raising the wage floor.

$8.67B: Additional annual wages Ohio workers would be making if the share of workers represented by a union were the same today as it was in 1979. SOWO Part 2: Median Wage looks at why Ohio’s median wage recently dropped, despite the nation’s upward trend. It’s in part due to decades of attacks on collective bargaining, including current pending legislation. HB 510, HB 512, HB 513, and HB 965, all would weaken workers’ ability to negotiate for a fair share of the wealth they create. Legislators should reject all four bills and instead stand with working people.

$9K: “Taxable wage base” for Ohio unemployment taxes. In other words, employers onlypay unemployment taxes on the first $9,000 each employee earns each year. It’s a complicated system, explained in plain language in SOWO Part 3: Unemployment Compensation. The upshot is that if legislators kept the taxable base in line with inflation, it would be nearly double today. Instead, Ohio’s Unemployment Compensation system is drastically underfunded, leading lawmakers to do whatever they can to shortchange workers on the benefits they have earned. That includes a proposal to cut the amount of time unemployed workers can access support. Legislators should reject that suggestion and raise the taxable wage base, so unemployed workers aren’t forced to pay the price for decades of legislative neglect.

$5.48B: Amount Ohio loses each year because too few people can access childcare when they need it. As described in SOWO Part 4: Childcare, policymakers continue to underinvest in Ohio’s childcare system. The consequences ripple throughout the economy: Parents leave jobs, providers struggle to stay open, and childcare workers earn a median wage of just $14.27 an hour. Too often, legislators treat childcare as if it’s just another line in the family budget. But when it’s not affordable, workers, employers, and communities pay the price. Legislators have a lot of good options for addressing the childcare crisis, including the WIN Act, which would get the ball rolling on Free Childcare for Childcare workers.

77%: Share of Ohio workers who lack access to paid family and medical leave through their employers. At some point, nearly every worker will need time away from work to care for a new child, recover from illness, or support a loved one. But for most Ohioans, taking that time means losing income — an estimated $2.32 billion in lost wages every year. As noted in SOWO Part 5: Paid Family Medical Leave, Ohio legislators already have a practical bipartisan proposal before them. The question is whether they will act before more workers are forced to choose between caring for their families and paying their bills.

Action items

Mahoning Valley friends: Save the date for the third annual SOWO Roadshow: Is Ohio’s economy working for working people? For this community conversation, we’re returning to Westside Bowl in Youngstown. Meet the team behind this year’s State of Working Ohio report! Hatch schemes! Eat FREE pizza! October 15, 6 pm – 8 pm. More details and registration are here.

Attend a Community Town Hall on the impact of school funding cuts, hosted by our friends at PUPS (Parents United for Public Schools). They have events planned all over the state — which is apt, since public schools from all across Ohio face shrinking budgets ever since legislators abandoned the Fair School Funding Plan. Registration is open for the following events—attend a PUPS Town Hall near you!

• This Wednesday, Sept. 9 in Grove City: The Cost of Shortchanging South-Western City Schools
• Sept. 23 in Berea: The Cost of Shortchanging Cuyahoga County Schools
• Sept. 29 in Ravenna:Portage County Public School Funding Town Hall
• Oct. 8 in North Canton: The Cost of Shortchanging Stark County Schools
• *Stay tuned for more — and follow PUPS on Instagram for all the latest