County jobless rate remains at 3.4 percent

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Van Wert County unemployment remained the same in October as it was the month before, according to information released this week by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Twelve other Ohio counties saw their jobless rate remain static, while 57 counties saw decreases in their unemployment, and another 18 counties saw an increase in joblessness.

Statistically, workforce estimates compiled by the ODJFS, in conjunction with the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, Van Wert County workforce numbers were the same at 15,100 people, while the number of people employed (14,600) and the number of county residents unemployed (500) remained the same as in September.

Among neighboring counties, Mercer County again had the lowest October unemployment rate in the state at 2.6 percent, down two-tenths of a percent from 2.8 percent in September. Putnam County was second with a jobless rate of 2.9 percent in October, down a tenth of a percent from September’s 3.0 percent, while Auglaize County remained at 3.2 percent in October, the same as the month before.

After Van Wert, Paulding County had an unemployment rate of 4.0 percent in October, the same as in September, while Allen County also reported a 4.0 percent unemployment rate in October, down a percent from 4.1 percent in September.

Statewide, six counties had unemployment rates at or below 3.0 percent in October. In addition to Mercer and Putnam counties, Geauga County had a 2.7 percent jobless rate, Lake and Medina counties were at 2.8 percent, and Wyandot had a 2.9 percent unemployment rate.

In addition, four counties saw unemployment at or above 6.0 percent in September. Monroe County had the highest unemployment in the state, at 7.8 percent, followed by Noble County at 6.3 percent, Jefferson County at 6.1 percent, and Meigs County at 6.0 percent.