Staff report
news@wbcowqel.com
It usually never hurts to be a trend setter and stand out from the crowd unless it’s when the local unemployment rate goes up while those around go down.
In the latest report from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Crawford County’s jobless rate for October ticked up slightly from September to 5.0 percent. That’s two-tenths higher than September but still much better than a year ago when it stood at 6.2 percent.
That bucks the statewide trend which indicated that Ohio’s overall unemployment rate dropped in October to 4.4 percent. In North Central Ohio, Crawford County shows the highest unemployment rate while neighboring Wyandot County has the lowest at 3.0 percent.
In other counties contiguous to Crawford, October jobless rates were 3.8 percent in Seneca, 4.9 in Huron, 4.8 in Richland, 4.1 in Morrow and 4.4 in Marion. Statewide Mercer County had the lowest unemployment rate at 2.8 percent while Monroe County had the highest at 8.1 percent.
From September, unemployment rates decreased in 45 counties, increased in 23 counties, and did not change in 20 counties.
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