Unemployment rate increases statewide

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Unemployment took a big jump in the area — and across the state — as all 88 Ohio counties saw an increase in joblessness in January, according to figures released Tuesday by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

Van Wert County, and neighboring counties, saw unemployment increase by as much as 1.4 percentage points during the month, with Van Wert County’s jobless rate increasing nearly 1 percent — from 4.0 percent to 4.9 percent — during January.

According to unemployment statistics compiled by the ODJFS, in cooperation with the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the county’s workforce decreased by 100 people in January, from 14,100 to 14,000, while those employed dropped by 200 people, from 13,500 to 13,300, and those unemployed rose by 100, from 600 to 700 people.

Neighboring counties also saw significant increases in unemployment, according to the ODJFS. Mercer County, while still having the lowest jobless rate in the state, saw unemployment increase from 3.1 percent in December 2016 to 3.9 percent in January.

Auglaize County had the second lowest unemployment rate at 4.5 percent, up eight-tenths of a percent from December’s 3.7 percent, while Putnam County’s unemployment increased from 3.6 percent in December 2016 to 4.8 percent in January, a jump of 1.2 percent.

Paulding County experienced the largest jump in unemployment, from 4.3 percent in December 2016 to 5.7 percent in January, an increase of 1.4 percent. Allen County’s unemployment rate was again the highest among neighboring counties, increasing from 5.0 percent in December 2016 to 6.2 percent in January.

Statewide, Mercer and Auglaize counties were two of six states with unemployment rates at or below 4.5 percent. Delaware County’s unemployment rate was 4.1 percent, Hancock and Holmes counties had jobless rates at 4.4 percent, and Union County joined Auglaize County at 4.5 percent.

At the high end of the spectrum, Monroe County had the highest unemployment in the state at 12.8 percent, while five other counties had double-digit unemployment rates of 10.0 percent or above in January. Those include Meigs County, 10.9 percent; Noble County, 10.6 percent; Adams County, 10.4 percent; Morgan County, 10.2 percent; and Ottawa County, 10.1 percent.

Ohio’s comparable unemployment rate was 6.0 percent in January.