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 May to 5.4 percent, according to figures released by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS).
ODJFS said the labor force in Highland County has 17,700 workers, with 16,700 members of the force employed and 1,000 unemployed. The numbers are not seasonally adjusted.
Of the 88 counties in Ohio, Highland County is ranked 17th in terms of the highest unemployment rate in the state, tied with three 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 3.3 percent in Mercer and Wyandot counties to a high of 6.8 percent in Jefferson and Meigs counties.
According to ODJFS, unemployment rose in 70 Ohio counties, fell in 14 and stayed the same in four.
The state had six counties at or below 3.7 percent unemployment in May: Mercer and Wyandot counties at 3.3 percent; Holmes and Putnam counties at 3.5 percent; and Auglaize and Van Wert counties at 3.7 percent.
The state had four counties at or above 6.0 percent unemployment in May: Jefferson and Meigs counties at 6.7 percent; Monroe County at 6.6 percent; Athens County at 6.4 percent; Jackson County at 6.3 percent; and Noble County at 6.1 percent.
Of the six counties contiguous to Highland County, Ross County had 4.2 percent unemployment, Fayette County had 4.4 percent, Brown County 5.2 percent, Clinton County 5.2 percent, Pike County 5.6 percent and Adams County 5.8 percent.
Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.
