Local jobless rate lower than state avg.

Van Wert independent news

When it comes to local and area unemployment rates, Van Wert County is on the lower end of the spectrum.

County-by-county figures released on Tuesday by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services show Van Wert County’s September jobless rate was 3.7 percent, substantially below the statewide average of 5.4 percent.

Auglaize County’s September unemployment rate also was 3.7 percent, while Putnam County’s rate was 3.3 percent, while Paulding County came in at 4.2 percent.

Mercer County had the area’s lowest unemployment rate and the second lowest rate in Ohio, 3.1 percent.

Just one area county – Allen County – reported an unemployment rate higher than the statewide average, 6.1 percent.

At 2.6 percent, Holmes County in northeast Ohio had the state’s lowest unemployment rate while Pike County, in south central Ohio, had the highest jobless rate in September, 7.7 percent.

Ohio’s average of 5.4 is unchanged from the previous month and it’s higher than the national average of 4.8 percent. According to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, 303,300 people were unemployed in September.