This graphic shows how high or low the unemployment rate is in all 88 counties in Ohio. The lighter-colored counties have lower unemployment rates while darker-colored counties have higher unemployment rates.
Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services graphic
The unemployment rate in Highland County fell in May to 3.9 percent, a drop of 2 percent compared to March, according to figures released by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS).
The ODJFS said the labor force in Highland County has 17,600 workers, with 16,900 members of the force employed and 700 unemployed. The numbers are not seasonally adjusted.
Of the 88 counties in Ohio, Highland County is ranked 22nd in terms of the highest unemployment rate in the state, tied with five other counties.
Seasonal adjustment, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, is a “statistical technique that attempts to measure and remove the influences of predictable seasonal patterns to reveal how employment and unemployment change from month to month.”
It considers the changes in labor market activity because of seasonal events like weather, harvests and major holidays. Because the seasonal events are mostly the same every year, the change in the trends can be eliminated by seasonally adjusting the statistics from month to month. The adjustments allow people to see the underlying trends and other nonseasonal movements, ODJFS said.
The county unemployment rates in Ohio ranged from a low of 2.1 percent in Mercer County to a high of 4.7 percent in Monroe County.
The state had four counties at or below 2.5 percent unemployment in May: Mercer County at 2.1 percent, Putnam and Wyandot counties at 2.3 percent and Holmes County at 2.4 percent.
The state had three counties at or above 4.5 percent unemployment in May: Monroe County at 4.7 percent, Meigs at 4.6 percent and Scioto County at 4.5 percent.
According to ODJFS, unemployment increased in 54 counties in Ohio in May, decreased in 19 and stayed the same in 15 counties.
Of the six counties contiguous to Highland County, Ross County had 3.1 percent unemployment in May, Fayette County had 3.4 percent, Brown County had 3.6 percent, Clinton County had 3.5 percent, Pike County had 4.1 percent and Adams County had 4.2 percent.
Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.
