County, state jobless rates rise in January

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Van Wert County’s unemployment rose a whole percentage point in January, following a trend seen all across the state, according to figures released Tuesday by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

The county’s unemployment rate increased to 4.8 percent, from 3.8 percent in December 2015. All 88 Ohio counties saw their jobless rates increase during January.

According to workforce estimates compiled by the ODJFS, in conjunction with the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, Van Wert County’s workforce declined 200, from 14,600 to 14,400, while those employed decreased 300, from 14,000 to 13,700, and those unemployed also increased, from 600 in December 2015 to 700 in January.

Neighboring counties also saw unemployment increases during January. Mercer County, while tying with Delaware County for the lowest jobless rate in the state, at 4.0 percent, still saw an increase in nine-tenths of a percent over December 2015’s 3.1 percent. Auglaize County’s jobless rate rose eight-tenths of a percent from 3.5 percent in December 2015 to 4.3 percent in January, while Putnam County’s unemployment rate was up 1.1 percent, from 3.8 percent in December 2015 to 4.9 percent in January.

Allen County also saw an increase of 1.1 percent from December to January, from 4.4 percent in December to 5.5 percent in January, while Paulding County had the highest unemployment rate in the area at 5.6 percent, up 1.1 percent from 4.5 percent in December 2015.

Statewide, Mercer and Delaware had the lowest unemployment rates, while a total of nine counties had unemployment rates at or below 4.5 percent in January. Holmes and Medina counties were at 4.1 percent, Auglaize and Geauga counties at 4.3 percent, Hancock and Union counties at 4.4 percent, and Wyandot County had an unemployment rate of 4.5 percent.

Five Ohio counties had unemployment rates at or above 10 percent. Those include Monroe County, 13.8 percent; Meigs County, 11.1 percent; Noble County, 11.0 percent; Morgan County, 10.8 percent; and Adams County, 10.3 percent.