Unemployment rates drop in county

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Van Wert County saw its unemployment rate drop below that of the state, as well as the national average, during April, according to figures released Tuesday by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

The county’s jobless rate dipped eight-tenths of a point, from 7.4 percent in March to 6.6 percent this past month.

According to labor force estimates compiled by the ODJFS, in cooperation with the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor, Van Wert County’s workforce numbers remained at 13,500, the same as in March, but the number of those employed rose 100 to 12,600, while the number of county residents unemployed decreased 100, from 1,000 to 900.

Van Wert County showed the biggest decrease of any of its neighboring counties. Mercer County, which again led the state in having the lowest unemployment rate, dropped a half-percent, from 4.6 to 4.1 percent, while Auglaize County also saw a half-percent decrease in unemployment, from 5.4 to 4.9 percent.

Putnam County experienced a decrease of seven-tenths of a percent, from 6.6 percent to 5.9 percent, while Paulding County’s jobless rate was down a half-percent, from 7.0 percent to 6.5 percent.

Allen County, which continued to have the highest unemployment in the area, still saw a decrease of seventh-tenths of a percent, from 8.1 percent to 7.4 percent; however, that county was the only one in the area that exceeded the state’s unemployment rate.

Statewide, all 88 counties saw a decrease in their unemployment rate in April. On the low end, four other counties, in addition to Mercer and Auglaize, had unemployment rates below 5.5 percent. They included Holmes, 4.4 percent; Delaware, 4.5 percent; Union, 5.0 percent; and Hancock, 5.3 percent.

At the other end of the spectrum, seven counties in the state had unemployment rates above 10 percent. They included Pike County, 12.1 percent; Meigs, 10.9 percent; Morgan, 10.6 percent; Scioto, 10.5 percent; Adams and Huron, 10.3 percent; and Vinton, 10.2 percent.

Unemployment estimates are based on 2012 benchmarks. 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 (click here to see the publication).

A larger version of the unemployment rate map can be accessed by clicking here.