Portage County, OH jobs, unemployment and layoffs
Independent page. Not from or affiliated with the State of Ohio.
Looking for work in Ohio? See where you stand.
Not sure you match what employers here are hiring for? Get a free read on your fit, the jobs open near you and a plan for the weeks ahead.
Show me jobs near mePortage County economy
3.5%
unemployment, Sep 2026
4.1% the month before
84,047
in the labor force
Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics
161,421
people in Portage County
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
$72,822
median household income
Source: Census ACS
37%
of workers in white-collar occupations
Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS
Where Portage County ranks
Where Portage County placed in our monthly rankings, month by month. Each month stays online at its own address.
November 2026
- #18Fastest-growing job markets in the Great Lakes+5.1% · of 100
- #24Fastest-growing job markets in the Midwest+5.1% · of 100
Portage County outlook: Building
Built from public Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census figures. It describes the area, not any one employer in it.
- Private-sector jobs up 5.1% from 2022 to 2025
- Population up 1.0% from 2020 to 2025
- Unemployment 3.5%, down 0.6 points from a year ago
- Sectors adding the most jobs: health care (+881 jobs), professional & technical (+490 jobs)
Learn and get funded in Portage County
- Which AI skills each kind of job asks for, with the pay premium.
- Your local workforce board and American Job Centers: training vouchers and re-employment help.
- Grants and funding for job seekers, ranked for your state and situation.
- Unemployment benefits by state, if you are between jobs.
Portage County layoffs
No layoff notices naming Portage County in the last 12 months are on file. The WARN Act covers employers with 100 or more workers, so smaller layoffs are not in it.
Employers hiring most in Portage County
Employers with the most open professional roles in this county’s cities. The county is taken from each job’s city, so roles with no city are not counted.
- Great Lakes Cheese11 open roles
- Dayton Freight Lines4 open roles
- GPAC4 open roles
- Creative Financial Staffing3 open roles
- Ametek Inc/2 open roles
- Giant Eagle2 open roles
- Kafkis2 open roles
- Tcp International2 open roles
- Akkodis1 open role
- Alten Technology USA1 open role
Colleges in Portage County
| College | City | Type | Students |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kent State University at Kent | Kent | Public 4-year | 20,000+ |
| Hiram College | Hiram | Private non-profit 4-year | 1,000–4,999 |
| Northeast Ohio Medical University | Rootstown | Public 4-year | 1,000–4,999 |
Workforce development and job centers
The public workforce board and American Job Centers serving Portage County. They offer free help with job search, training and filing for benefits.
Laid off in Ohio? How to file for unemployment in Ohio (steps, weekly amount and the appeal deadline).
- Northeast Ohio Consortium Council of Governments, Agent for the Ohio Area 19 Workforce Development Board (Ashtabula, Geauga, and Portage Counties)
Ashtabula, Geauga, Portage
OhioMeansJobs Portage County
Ravenna · Affiliate · 330-296-2841
Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm
Cities in Portage County
Other Ohio counties
Laid off or looking for work in Portage County?
See what to do first and the jobs open near you.
See your options after a layoffSources: Census Bureau and BLS (county unemployment is not seasonally adjusted); layoff notices from Ohio’s published record; job counts from our live job board; IPEDS for colleges; CareerOneStop for workforce boards and job centers. Ohio unemployment benefits and severance rules.
Applying and hearing nothing back?
Find out where you stand: your odds, the jobs that fit you and a plan for the week ahead. Free. No résumé needed.
Already a member? Log in
Job seekers in Portage County looking to you for help, or openings you cannot fill?
Leave your work email. We'll send how organizations use NextChapter to reach job seekers in Portage County.