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
The unemployment rate in Highland County rose in March to 5.7 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 17,717 workers, with 16,715 members of the force employed and 1,002 unemployed. The numbers are not seasonally adjusted.
Of the 88 counties in Ohio, Highland County ranked 18th in terms of the highest unemployment rate in the state, tied with one other county.
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 3.1 percent in Mercer County to a high of 7.3 percent in Meigs County.
The state had five counties at or below 3.5 percent unemployment in March: Mercer County at 3.1 percent, Holmes County at 3.3 percent, Putnam and Wyandot counties at 3.4 percent and Auglaize County at 3.5 percent.
The state had five counties at or above 6.5 percent unemployment in March: Meigs County at 7.3 percent, Adams, Monroe and Noble counties at 6.9 percent and Ottawa County at 6.8 percent.
According to ODJFS, unemployment increased in 55 Ohio counties, decreased in 24 and stayed the same in nine counties.
Of the six counties contiguous to Highland County, Ross County had 4.3 percent unemployment in March, Fayette County had 4.5 percent, Clinton County had 5.1 percent, Brown County 5.6 percent, Pike County 5.9 percent and Adams County .9 percent.
Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.
