County by county unemployment numbers released Tuesday for the month of October showed that the number of those out of work had decreased in all of Ohio’s 88 counties.
The figures were provided by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Office of Workforce Development.
Highland County’s unemployment rate dropped to 5 percent, placing it near the middle of the pack, with Cuyahoga, Jefferson, Mahoning and Trumbull counties having the highest jobless numbers at 6.6 percent.
Holmes County, in the heart of northeast Ohio’s Amish country, had the lowest jobless rate at 2.3 percent.
The unemployment rate for Ohio in October was 5.6 percent.
Counties in the region that border Highland also witnessed significant drops in their unemployment rates. Clinton County had a jobless rate for October of 5.2 percent, with neighboring Fayette County dropping to 4.6 percent and Ross County decreasing to 4.7 percent. Brown County’s unemployment rate improved to 5.1 percent, Pike County was at 5.7 percent, and Adams County — perennially near the top of the unemployment list — landed at No. 20 among Ohio’s 88 counties with a 5.4 percent unemployment rate.
With “help wanted” and “now hiring” signs popping up everywhere, even the Ohio Department of Natural Resources is getting into the act, with plans to hire at least 15 new natural resources officers.
Local natural resource officer Adam Somerville told The Times-Gazette that applications are being accepted through Jan. 15 for the next training academy for NROs.
Applicants must be 21 years old and possess a valid Ohio driver’s license, with an associate degree or completion of an undergraduate core program in natural resources, fish and/or wildlife management, criminal justice, environmental law enforcement or related fields also required.
Other qualifications include completing a background check, psychological exam and being able to pass a drug screen, as well as meeting swim and physical fitness standards and residing within 45 miles of their work location.
Somerville said to apply online at www.careers.ohio.gov.
November unemployment rates and non-agricultural wage and salary data for Ohio will be released by the ODJFS on Friday, Dec. 18, with jobless numbers for counties, cities with populations of 50,000 or more and metropolitan areas available on Dec. 22.
Reach Tim Colliver at 937-402-2571.
