SIDNEY — Ohio’s unemployment rate was 4.9 percent in May 2017, down from 5.0 percent in April 2017.
The May unemployment rate for Ohio, did not change from May 2016.
Unemployment was at 3.7 percent in Shelby County in May, up from 3.5 percent in April, according to the latest data from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Office of Workforce Development, Bureau of Labor Market Information.
The U.S. unemployment rate for May 2017 was 4.3 percent, 0.1 percentage points lower than in April 2017, and 0.4 percentage points lower than in May 2016.
Among the state’s 88 counties, preliminary April 2017 unemployment rates ranged from a low of 2.8 percent in Mercer County to a high of 7.2 percent in Monroe County. From April, unemployment rates increased in all 53 counties, decreased in 27 counties and did not change in eight counties. The comparable unemployment rate for Ohio was 4.6 percent in May.
Ten counties had unemployment rates at or below 3.5 percent in May. The counties with the lowest rates, other than Mercer were: Holmes and Putnam, 3.1 percent; Delaware, Hancock, and Wyandot, 3.2 percent; Auglaize and Union, 3.4 percent; and Madison and Wayne, 3.5 percent.
Eight counties had unemployment rates above 6.0 percent in May. The counties with the highest rates, other than Monroe were: Jefferson, 6.8 percent; Meigs, 6.5 percent; Jackson, 6.2 percent; and Cuyahoga, Lorain, Scioto, and Trumbull, 6.1 percent.
Surrounding counties’ unemployment rates for April (compared to March rates) were as follows: Allen, 4.6 (up from 4.5); Auglaize, 3.4 (up from 3.3); Champaign, 3.8 (up from 3.5); Darke, 3.8 (up from 3.5); Logan 3.7 (up from 3.5); Mercer, 2.8 (up from 2.5); and Miami, 3.9 (up from 3.6).
