Unemployment rates mixed bag in Ohio

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Unemployment was up and down among Ohio’s 88 counties, with Van Wert County seeing a slight increase in joblessness in October, according to estimates provided this week by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

Van Wert County saw its unemployment estimates increase a tenth of a point in November, from 3.6 percent in September to 3.7 percent last month. Despite the slight upturn, though, the county still had one of the lowest jobless percentages in the state, ranked at 10th lowest among Ohio’s 88 counties

Statistically, according to figures provided by the ODJFS, in conjunction with the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the county saw pretty much the same labor picture as in September, with 14,300 in the labor force, 13,800 employed, and an estimated 500 out of work.

Among neighboring counties, Mercer County again led the area — and the state — with an unemployment rate of 2.8 percent, the same as in September. In fact, Van Wert County was the only county among neighboring counties to see an increase in unemployment.

Second was Putnam County with a jobless rate of 3.0, down two-tenths of a point from September’s 3.2 percent. Third was Auglaize County at 3.3 percent, down a point from 3.4 percent in September; fourth was Paulding County at 4.1 percent, down two-tenths from 4.3 percent in September; and last was Allen County at 4.5 percent, down a tenth of a percent from September’s 4.6 percent.

Across the state, in addition to Mercer, Putnam, and Auglaize counties, six other counties had unemployment estimates under 3.5 percent. They include Holmes and Wyandot counties at 3.2 percent; Delaware, Hancock, and Union counties at 3.3 percent; and Madison County at 3.4 percent.

At the other end of the spectrum, six counties had unemployment estimates at or above 6 percent in October. Those include Monroe County at 7.1 percent; Meigs County at 6.9 percent; Jefferson County, 6.4 percent; Noble County, 6.2 percent; and Scioto and Trumball counties, 6.0 percent.

The comparable unemployment rate for Ohio was 4.5 percent in October.