LIMA — Unemployment rates went up in six of nine area counties in February, including by 1.2 percentage points in Allen County, according to data released Tuesday by the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services.
Still, only two counties had rates over the statewide average of 4.2%.
Allen County saw its unemployment climb for the second month in a row, from 4.8% in January to 6.0% in February. There were actually 300 more people with jobs in the county in February than in January, but the number of people in the labor force climbed by 900 to 48,100, the highest for that number since August.
In Auglaize County, February’s rate of 3.6% was up 0.3 percentage points from January, as its labor force grew by 200 people. It had the sixth-lowest rate in Ohio.
Putnam County’s rate climbed to 3.8%, its highest since hitting 4.0% in July. It also saw 300 more people in the labor force, offsetting 100 more people with jobs in the county.
All of the area counties still had unemployment rates lower than they were back in February 2021.
Nationally, the unemployment rate for February was 3.8%.
Mercer County tied for the second-lowest unemployment rate in the state, at 3.0%. Holmes County had the lowest rate at 2.9%, and Monroe County had the highest rate at 8.3%.
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