5/21/2008 12:16:00 AM
Unemployment numbers rise slightly in Van Wert
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| The unemployment rate in Van Wert County grew slightly to 6.5% in the month of April. The number is misleading, however, since the 328 locked-out Kongsberg workers are not included. |
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BY ED GEBERT
Times Bulletin News Writer
egebert@timesbulletin.com
Even with the addition of more than 300 locked-out workers from Kongsberg Automotive added to the unemployment rolls in April, the jobless rate for Van Wert County took only a slight jump to 6.5 percent.
That figure is up only slightly from the 5.7 percent unemployment rate in March.
The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) released the April county-by-county statistics on Tuesday. The statewide figure of 5.6 percent for the month was made public last Friday.
However, according to the ODJFS, unemployment figures are usually based on the week containing the 12th of the month. Since the Kongsberg workers were added to the rolls on April 28, the full effect of the lockout won't be reflected in the jobless numbers until the May statistics are released June 24.
Van Wert ranks as the 26th highest unemployment rate of the state's 88 counties. Also at 6.5 percent were Highland, Cuyahoga, and Lucas counties. The county with the highest unemployment rate in Ohio is Morgan County with a 9.6 percent figure. Delaware County has the lowest rate at 3.7 percent unemployed.
The difference in the statistics for Van Wert County between March and April is the total reported labor force available in the county. The March 2008 report lists the same number of employed workers as the April report, but the March report shows 100 more people available for work. That raised the overall unemployed in the county from 900 to 1,000, accounting for the change in the jobless rate.
That means that even with more than 300 people added to the list of unemployed, another 300 became employed in the month.
Around the area, Paulding County reported only 600 unemployed workers for a 5.1 rate in April. That is down from 6.2 percent in March. That ranks as the 65th highest rate in Ohio.
Mercer County's figure dropped from 4.5 percent in March to 4.0 percent in April, with 23,200 workers on the job. That rate gives Mercer County the third-lowest unemployment rate in the state.
Allen County's unemployment rate in April was 5.9 percent, while Putnam County was 4.7 percent.
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