The unemployment rate in Highland County dropped slightly in July to 6.6 percent, a fall of 0.2 percent from the month before, according to new figures Tuesday released by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS).
The ODJFS said the labor force in Highland County has 17,700 workers, with 16,500 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 25th 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, the ODJFS said.
Overall, the Ohio unemployment rate went up to 5.4 percent in July from 5.2 percent in June.
The county unemployment rates in Ohio range from a low of 3.7 percent in Holmes County to a high of 8.1 percent in Athens and Jefferson counties.
The state had three counties at or below 4.0 percent unemployment in July — Holmes County at 3.7 percent, Mercer County at 3.8 percent and Putnam County at 4.0 percent.
The state had nine counties at or above 7.5 percent unemployment in July — Athens and Jefferson counties at 8.1 percent; Lucas and Meigs counties at 7.9 percent; Harrison County at 7.7 percent; Monroe, Noble and Scioto counties at 7.6 percent; and Trumbull County at 7.5 percent.
According to the ODJFS, 86 counties had their unemployment numbers decrease, while the numbers increased in one county and stayed the same in one county in July.
Of the six counties contiguous to Highland County: Ross County had a 5.7 percent unemployment rate, Fayette County had 5.4 percent, Clinton County had 6.3 percent, Brown County had 6.5 percent, Pike County had 7.2 percent and Adams County had 7.2 percent.
Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.
