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 graphic
The unemployment rate in Highland County fell in August to 4.7 percent according to figures released by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS).
ODJFS said the labor force in Highland County has 17,800 workers, with 16,900 members of the force employed and 800 unemployed. The numbers are not seasonally adjusted.
Of the 88 counties in Ohio, Highland County is ranked 23rd in terms of the highest unemployment rate in the state, tied with five 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 2.9 percent in Mercer and Wyandot counties to a high of 6.4 percent in Athens County.
According to ODJFS, unemployment fell in all 88 Ohio counties.
The state had six counties at or below 3.3 percent unemployment in August: Mercer and Wyandot counties at 2.9 percent; Holmes and Putnam counties at 3.1 percent and Auglaize and Medina counties at 3.3 percent.
The state had six counties at or above 5.5 percent unemployment in August: Athens County at 6.4 percent, Jefferson and Meigs counties at 6.3 percent, Monroe County at 6.2 percent and Lucas and Scioto counties at 5.5 percent.
Of the six counties contiguous to Highland County, Fayette County had 3.8 percent unemployment in August, Ross County had 4.0 percent, Clinton County had 4.6 percent, Brown County had 4.7 percent, Pike County had 5.1 percent and Adams County had 5.2 percent.
Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.
