Staff report
news@wbcowqel.com
For those wondering when the economic recovery was going to hit Crawford County, perhaps they needn’t wonder any longer.
The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services released employment numbers Tuesday for counties and municipalities. The jobless rate in Crawford County dropped again to 5.3 percent. That is the lowest it has been since 2000.
However the best news from that report may be buried in the details. Back in March of this year, Crawford County had approximately 18,000 people working out of a total labor force of 19,400 with 1,400 considered unemployed. In six months those same numbers are 18,900 working out of a labor force of 20,000 and 1,100 unemployed.
In six months the county has seen a net increase of 900 jobs, 600 added to the labor force and 300 fewer unemployed.
Going back one year to September of 2013, Crawford County’s unemployment rate was 8.6 percent with 18,100 working out of a labor force of 19,800.
Among surrounding counties, Wyandot had the lowest unemployment rate in September at 4.1 percent and Huron the highest at 6.1. Others were Richland County at 5.4, Morrow County at 4.5, Marion County at 5.2 and Seneca County at 4.1.
The lowest unemployment rate in the state was Mercer County at 2.9 percent. The highest was Monroe County at 10.7.