COLUMBUS — Ohio’s jobless rate dipped to 10.1 percent in September, down from 10.8 percent in August, as more Ohioans dropped out of the labor force.

Data released on Friday, Oct. 16, by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, showed that employment dropped by 5,900 over the month, from 5,103,100 in August to 5,097,200 in September.

Both the service-producing and goods-producing sectors of the economy continued to show job losses, ODJFS Director Douglas Lumpkin said in a press release.

In September, the number of unemployed workers was 594,000, down from 641,000 in August.

During the past 12 months, the number of jobless Ohioans has gone up by 190,000 from 404,000. Statewide employment has dropped by 258,100.

The new September jobless rate was up from a 6.8 percent unemployment rate in September 2008.

Ohio’s jobless rate compared to a national unemployment rate of 9.8 percent for this September, up from 9.7 percent in August.

Veronica Adkins, Kettering branch manager for Spherion, a recruiting and staffing company, said that she is seeing encouraging signs with more requests from employers for workers.

“We have seen a big increase. This week I have started 31 new jobs and have eight open orders,” she said.

She said there have been requests for workers in warehousing, electronics and call centers.

The request for warehouse workers who unload supplies appears to be a sign that companies are restoring inventories, she said.

“It has been great the last few weeks,” said Adkins. “It’s the first time I can truly say this year that maybe it’s coming back. Maybe it’s going to get better.”

Contact this reporter at (614) 224-1608 or whershey@DaytonDailyNews.com.