COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio’s unemployment rate dropped in May for the 10th consecutive month, upping the presidential campaign stakes in the battleground state as Ohio’s rate reached its lowest point since October 2008 while the national rate increased slightly.

The increase announced Friday is good news for President Barack Obama and provides fodder for the argument that his economic policies are working. The news is a challenge for presumptive GOP candidate Mitt Romney as he tries to persuade Ohio voters that things have been worse under Obama.