County sees small unemployment decline

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Unemployment in Van Wert County saw an incremental decrease in May, according to data released Tuesday by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. The county decrease also mirrors a larger trend in the state, with the ODJFS reporting that 76 of Ohio’s 88 counties had a decrease in the number of people unemployed. Of the remaining counties, six saw unemployment remain the same, and six counties saw an increase in unemployment.

Van Wert County unemployment estimates dropped two-tenths of a percentage, from 3.8 percent in April to 3.6 percent in May.

County workforce estimates compiled by the ODJFS, in conjunction with the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, indicated a workforce increase of 100, from 14,500 in April to 14,600 last month, while those employed increased 200, from 13,900 in April to 14,100 last month. The number of county residents unemployed remained the same at 500.

Overall, jobless rates in the area were down, although two counties saw no change in unemployment from April to May.

Mercer County again had the lowest unemployment rate in the area — and the state — at 2.9 percent, down a tenth of a percent from April’s 3.0 jobless rate. Putnam and Auglaize counties tied at 3.3 percent, with Putnam County’s unemployment rate dropping from 3.5 percent in April, while Auglaize County’s remained the same as in April.

Allen County’s unemployment rate also remained the same as in April, at 4.4 percent, while Paulding County’s jobless rate decreased two-tenths of a percent, from 4.6 percent in April to 4.4 percent last month.

Statewide, three area counties, Mercer, Auglaize, and Putnam, were among the 10 counties with unemployment below 3.5 percent. Holmes County was second at 3.2 percent; Delaware County joined Auglaize and Putnam at 3.3 percent; Hancock and Wyandot, 3.4 percent; and Darke, Madison, and Union counties at 3.5 percent.

On the other end of the spectrum, Monroe County had the highest unemployment rate in the state, at 10.8 percent, while five other counties had jobless rates at or above 7.5 percent. Those include Jefferson County, 8.2 percent; Noble County, 7.8 percent; Meigs and Morgan counties, 7.7 percent; and Harrison County, 7.6 percent.

The comparable unemployment rate for Ohio was 4.6 percent in May.