Jobless rate increases locally, statewide

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

The latest figures from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services show Van Wert County came in below the state’s overall unemployment rate in May.

Van Wert County’s jobless rate was 3.7 percent last month, while the Ohio average increased from 4.0 to 4.2 percent. Van Wert County’s jobless rate increased from 3.3 percent in April. Even so, the county’s unemployment rate remains among the lowest in Ohio. Van Wert County, along with Auglaize County tied for the fifth lowest rate statewide.

According to ODJFS, Van Wert County had a labor force of 14,900 in March, with 14,400 workers employed. Other figures supplied by the state show the county’s unemployment rate has increased since May of 2023, when it was just 2.6 percent.

Five of the six counties with the lowest jobless rate are in northwest Ohio. Once again, neighboring Mercer County had Ohio’s lowest unemployment rate, 3.3 percent in May, the same as Wyandot County. Putnam and Holmes counties tied for third lowest, 3.5 percent, while Van Wert and Auglaize counties tied for fifth lowest. Paulding County’s May jobless equaled the statewide average, 4.2 percent, while Allen County’s May unemployment rate was 4.7 percent, 37th among Ohio’s 88 counties.

Counties with the highest rates in May were primarily in southeast Ohio. Jefferson and Meigs counties each had the highest jobless rate, 6.8 percent, followed by Monroe County (6.6 percent), Athens County (6.4 percent), and Jackson County (6.3 percent).

Ohio’s nonagricultural wage and salary employment increased 21,200 over the month, from a revised 5,641,400 in April to 5,662,600 in May. The number of workers unemployed in Ohio in May was 243,000, up from 230,000 in April.