The unemployment rate in Highland County increased to 6.8 percent in June — a rise of 1.7 percent from the month before — according to new figures Tuesday released by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS).
ODJFS said the labor force in Highland County has 17,400 workers, with 16,200 members of the force employed and 1,200 unemployed. The numbers are not seasonally adjusted.
Of the 88 counties in Ohio, Highland County is ranked 31st 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.
Overall, the Ohio unemployment rate went up to 5.2 percent in June from 5.0 percent in May.
The county unemployment rates in Ohio range from a low of 3.8 percent in Holmes County to a high of 8.7 percent in Erie, Jefferson and Meigs counties.
The state had four counties at or below 4.5 percent unemployment in June: Holmes County at 3.8 percent, Mercer County at 3.9 percent, Putnam County at 4.1 percent and Wyandot County at 4.4 percent.
The state had seven counties at or above 8.0 percent unemployment in June: Erie, Jefferson and Meigs counties at 8.7 percent, Monroe County at 8.6 percent, Noble County at 8.2 percent, Athens County at 8.1 percent and Sandusky County at 8.0 percent.
According to ODJFS, all 88 counties had their unemployment increase in June.
Of the six counties contiguous to Highland County: Ross County had 5.7 percent unemployment, Fayette County had 5.9 percent, Clinton County had 6.6 percent, Brown County had 6.6 percent, Pike County had 7.4 percent and Adams County had 7.4 percent.
Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.
