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.
ODJFS graphic
The unemployment rate in Highland County rose in December to 4.0 percent, according to figures released by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS).
The ODJFS said the labor force in Highland County has 17,200 workers, with 16,600 members of the force employed and 700 unemployed. The numbers are not seasonally adjusted.
Of the 88 counties in Ohio, Highland County is ranked 19th in terms of the highest unemployment rate in the state, tied with two 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 1.8 percent in Mercer County to a high of 5.8 percent in Monroe County.
The state had nine counties at or below 2.5 percent unemployment in December: Mercer County at 1.8 percent, Holmes County at 2.1 percent, Wyandot County at 2.2 percent, Auglaize and Van Wert counties at 2.3 percent and Delaware, Hancock, Putnam and Wayne counties at 2.4 percent.
The state had nine counties at or above 4.5 percent unemployment in December: Monroe County at 5.8 percent, Ottawa County at 5.5 percent, Meigs County at 5.3 percent, Noble County at 5.1 percent, Adams County at 4.9 percent, Huron and Jefferson counties at 4.7 percent, Morgan County at 4.6 percent and Vinton County at 4.5 percent.
According to ODJFS, unemployment increased in 60 counties, decreased in 12 counties and didn’t change in 16 Ohio counties in December.
Of the six counties contiguous to Highland County, Fayette County had 3.0 percent unemployment in December, Ross County had 3.0 percent, Clinton County had 3.5 percent, Brown County had 3.8 percent, Pike County had 4.3 percent and Adams County had 4.9 percent.
Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.
