License Suspensions Could be Costing Ohio a Big Chunk of Its Workforce

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Suspending Ohioans’ drivers’ licenses over debts doesn’t just hurt those people. It also is likely taking a huge bite out of the state’s workforce, according to a study released last week by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.

According to the report’s more conservative estimate, a whopping 14.4% of the Ohio labor force could be at risk of leaving it in any given year due to such suspensions. That’s a big enough chunk to affect everybody, authors Kyle D. Fee and Brian A. Mikelbank of 51ĀŅĀ× wrote.

ā€œOur analysis suggests that these suspensions, especially when combined with increasing driver’s license requirements, make finding and maintaining employment more difficult for a sizable portion of Ohioans, but that instability also affects the broader economy,ā€ they wrote. ā€œFewer people in the labor force means fewer people to hire and fewer people to produce and consume goods and services.ā€

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