LIMA — The unemployment rate in Allen County rose 0.5 percentage points from June to July, according to figures released Tuesday by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
Allen County’s unemployment rate stood at 5.3 percent for July, up from 4.8 percent in June. Allen and Auglaize counties were the only counties in the region that experienced higher unemployment rates over that time period. The unemployment rate in Auglaize County rose 0.1 percentage points, from 3.6 in June to 3.7 in July.
Of Allen County’s 51,000 workers, 48,300 were employed in June and 2,700 were unemployed. In Auglaize County, the total workforce of 25,300 was divided between 24,400 who were employed and 900 who were unemployed.
Regionally, two counties experienced improved unemployment rates, and five others stayed the same. The unemployment rate in Hancock County went from 3.7 to 3.5 percent, and Mercer County dropped 0.1 percentage points to 3.1 percent. Putnam (3.5 percent), Van Wert (4 percent), Logan (4.1 percent) and Shelby (4.1 percent) counties remained stagnant from June to July.
For the fifth-straight month, Mercer County had the lowest unemployment rate in the state. Hancock County was third-best, and Putnam County was fifth-best. Despite a 0.1 percent increase from June to July, Auglaize County was eighth-best in the state.
The highest unemployment rate in the state was Monroe County at 9.9 percent, followed by Meigs (7.9 percent), Jefferson (7.8 percent), Noble (7.5 percent), and Scioto (7.3 percent) counties.
From June, unemployment rates decreased in 67 Ohio counties, increased in eight and did not change in 13. However, more than 24,000 Ohioans stopped looking for work in July. This is the biggest drop in the state’s labor force participation since 1990, according to a press release from The Buckeye Institute, an independent research and educational institution.
Ohio’s overall unemployment rate fell slightly — 4.9 percent in June to 4.8 percent in July — but only because there were fewer people in the state’s labor force, a policy analyst from The Buckeye Institute stated.
Joe Nichols, of The Buckeye Institute, said July’s jobs report shows small businesses and other private sector employers did not have the ability to absorb all the people seeking jobs, and now those people have stopped looking for work as a result.
“Ohioans clearly wanted to work, but the state’s employers did not have the money and resources to hire them,” Nichols said. “This should be a sign to state leaders that we need more policies that keep money in the hands of job creators and not government.”
The most job losses in the state came from construction (minus-3,600). The most job gains in July occurred in the health care and social assistance sector (plus-6,400), and local government (plus-3,100).
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By John Bush
jbush@civitasmedia.com
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