VW County jobless rate under 4 percent

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Unemployment rates fell again in Van Wert County, as well as in most of Ohio’s 88 counties, during the month of September, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. A total of 85 Ohio counties saw unemployment rates decrease in September, while just three counties saw a higher jobless rate.

Van Wert County’s jobless rate again dropped under 4 percent in September, from 4.0 percent in August to 3.6 percent last month.

According to statistics compiled by the ODJFS, in conjunction with the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the count’s labor force declined 100 people, from 14,400 in August to 14,300 last month. The number of county residents employed in September also dropped by 100, 13,900 to 13,800, while those unemployed also dropped by 100 people, from 600 in August to 500 last month.

Among neighboring counties, Mercer County again claimed the lowest unemployment rate in the area — and the state — at 2.8 percent, down four-tenths of a percent from August’s 3.2 percent. Putnam County had the second lowest jobless rate in the area at 3.2 percent, down three-tenths of a percent from August, while Auglaize County was the third lowest at 3.4 percent, down half a percent from 3.9 percent in August. Van Wert County had the fourth lowest unemployment rate in the area — and the 10th lowest in the state — at 3.6 percent, while Paulding County was fifth at 4.3 percent, down a half-percent from August’s 4.8 percent, and Allen County’s unemployment rate was the highest in the area at 4.6 percent, down half a percent from August’s 5.1 percent.

Mercer, Putnam, Auglaize, and Van Wert counties were all in the lowest 10 counties in the state in unemployment rate.

Across the state, there were nine counties that had unemployment rates at or below 3.5 percent. In addition to Mercer, Putnam, and Auglaize counties, those include Delaware, Hancock, and Holmes counties at 3.3 percent; Union and Wyandot counties at 3.4 percent; and Madison County at 3.5 percent.

At the other end of the spectrum, four counties had unemployment rates at or above 6.5 percent in September. Those include Trumbull County, which had the highest unemployment rate in the state at 7.9 percent last month. Other counties above 6.5 percent include Mahoning County, 7.5 percent; Monroe County, 7.0 percent; and Meigs County, 6.9 percent.

The comparable unemployment rate for the state was 4.7 percent in September.