DARKE COUNTY — The unemployment rate in Darke County saw an increase in December over the previous month, according to information just released by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Office of Workforce Development, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Darke County’s estimated unemployment in December was 4 percent, up from 3.8 percent in November.
The county’s employment rate ranked 17th best in the state in Darke. County unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted.
The statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate showed an increase in November as well, rising to 4.7 percent from November’s rate of 4.5 percent. The rate in December 2014 was 5.1 percent.
The civilian labor force in Ohio grew from an estimated 5,711,000 in November to 5.727,000 in December. The labor force participation rate was estimated at 62.5 percent. The population of working age people in the state grew by about 3,000 in December.
The U.S. unemployment rate, seasonally adjusted, was estimated at 5.0 percent in December, holding steady with the November rate. A year ago, in December 2014, U.S. unemployment was at 5.6 percent. An estimated 59.5 percent of the total population was working in December, nationwide.
In Darke County, the labor force in December was estimated at 26,300 people, with 25,300 of those listed as employed.
Among the state’s 88 counties, preliminary December 2015 unemployment rates ranged from a low of 3.1 percent in Mercer County to a high of 10.7 percent in Monroe County. From November, unemployment rates increased in 68 counties, decreased in six counties and did not change in 14 counties. The comparable unemployment rate for Ohio (not seasonally adjusted) was 4.6 percent in December.
Eight counties had unemployment rates at or below 3.5 percent in December. The counties with the lowest rates, other than Mercer, were Holmes and Medina, 3.2; Delaware and Geauga, 3.3; Wyandot, 3.4; and Auglaize and Union, 3.5.
Five counties had unemployment rates at or above 8 percent in December. The counties with the highest rates, other than Monroe, were Noble, 8.9; Morgan, 8.6; Meigs, 8.1; and Adams, 8.
Surrounding counties’ rates of unemployment for December 2015 were as follows: Auglaize, 3.5 percent, even with November; Mercer, 3.1 percent, even with November; Miami, 4.2 percent, up from 4.1 percent; Montgomery, 4.7 percent, even with November; Preble, 4.6 percent, up from 4.5 percent; and Shelby, 4.2 percent, up from 4 percent.
