County unemployment down last month

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

The unemployment pendulum has swung a bit back down as jobless figures for Van Wert County — and most of the state — trended downward in February following a spike upwards in January of this year.

The county was among 76 of Ohio’s 88 counties that saw a decrease in unemployment in February, according to figures released Tuesday by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Those seeing a decrease also included all five of Van Wert’s neighboring counties.

After a hike of nearly 1 percent in January, from 4.0 to 4.9 percent, Van Wert County saw its jobless rate fall three-tenths of a percent in February, to 4.6 percent.

According to labor force estimates compiled by the ODJFS, in collaboration with the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, Van Wert County saw its workforce estimate rise 100 people, from 14,000 to 14,100, while the number of county residents employed increased 200, from 13,300 to 13,500, which returned the county to December 2016 numbers. A total of 600 people were listed as being unemployed in February, a decrease of 100 people.

Mercer County again led the state in having the lowest unemployment in February, at 3.7 percent, a decrease of two-tenths of a percent over January’s 3.9 percent. Auglaize County was second among neighboring counties at 4.2 percent, down from 4.5 percent in January, while Putnam County saw its jobless rate decrease from 4.8 percent in January to 4.4 percent last month.

Paulding County’s unemployment rate in February stands at 5.3 percent, a decrease of three-tenths of a percent over January’s 5.6 percent unemployment rate. Allen County is again the highest neighboring county at 5.8 percent, a decrease of four-tenths of a percent over January’s 6.2 percent unemployment rate.

Statewide, in addition to Mercer County, Auglaize and Putnam counties, seven other counties had unemployment rates at or below 4.5 percent in February. They include Delaware County (3.8 percent), Hancock and Holmes counties (4.1 percent), Union County (4.2 percent), Franklin and Madison counties (4.4 percent), and Warren County (4.5 percent).

At the other end of the spectrum, seven counties had unemployment rates above 9.0 percent in February, led by Monroe County’s 11.8 percent unemployment rate. Other counties above 9.0 percent included Meigs County (10.2 percent), Ottawa County (9.6 percent), Adams and Noble counties (9.5 percent), Morgan County (9.3 percent), and Jackson County (9.2 percent).

Ohio’s comparable unemployment rate was 5.9 percent in February.