Jobless rate up slightly in VW County

Van Wert independent/ODJFS information

Van Wert County followed a statewide trend, as unemployment rose slightly in the county during the month of June.

The county showed an increase of three-tenths of a percent from May to June, from a May rate adjusted from 6.9 to 7.0 percent to June’s 7.2 percent. According to figures provided by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services on Tuesday, the number of unemployed in the county stayed the same, while the total workforce and those employed both dropped by 100 people (click here for a larger map with more information).

Across the state, 85 of Ohio’s 88 counties also showed an increase in unemployment. Unemployment ranged from a low of 4.6 in Mercer County to a high of 13.0 percent in Pike County. The state’s jobless rate was also initially said to have dropped, from 7.3 percent to 7.2 percent, but June’s unemployment rate was later adjusted up to 7.4 percent, which would be an increase of a tenth of a percent.

Other counties with unemployment at or below 6 percent included Holmes (5.1), Delaware (5.2), Union (5.7), Auglaize and Putnam (5.8), and Erie (6.0). Counties will a jobless rate at or above 10 percent included Meigs (12.0), Scioto (11.1), Morgan (10.7), Adams (10.6), Clinton (10.5), Noble and Vinton (10.4), Jefferson (10.2) and Coshocton (10.0).

Among area counties, Mercer was low, but also saw an increase from 4.2 percent to 4.6 percent in June. Auglaize went from 5.5 percent to 5.8 percent, while Putnam County’s jobless rate increased from 5.4 percent to 5.8 percent in June. Paulding County was slightly ahead of Van Wert with an unemployment rate of 7.0 percent, up from 6.5 percent last month, while Allen County was again last among neighboring counties at 7.8 percent, up from 7.6 percent last month.

The estimates, prepared in cooperation with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, are based on a 2011 benchmark and geared to county of residence, but not seasonally adjusted. Unemployment rates for all Ohio counties, as well as cities with populations of 50,000 or more, are presented in the monthly ODJFS Civilian Labor Force Estimates publication.