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Thursday, 24 December 2009 |
By MIKE BURKHOLDER
Managing Editor
ST. MARYS — Unemployment numbers continue to edge lower in Auglaize County.
In data released this week by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Auglaize County registered an unemployment rate of 10 percent — down 0.1 percent from November. Last year, the unemployment rate was 6.1 percent. Statewide, unemployment jumped 0.2 percent to 10.2 percent.
“We are happy the numbers are going down,” St. Marys Safety-Service Director Tom Hitchcock said. “It’s still hard for us to judge too much on our unemployment rates in the city of St. Marys because it’s the county as a whole. We think we are below 10 percent for our unemployment rates but we also know what is happening in some other communities that could be above that.”
Surrounding counties saw mixed results. Unemployment rates climbed in Allen County from 10.7 percent to 10.8 percent. Rates also increased in Mercer County from 7.9 percent to 8 percent. Rates remained the same in Shelby County — 12 percent — and Van Wert County saw a decrease of 0.2 percent to 13.2 percent.
Hitchcock said while the decrease was small, it is a step in the right direction for the county.
“It’s nice to see that it is at least heading back in the right direction for the county,” Hitchcock said.
Wapakoneta Area Economic Development Council Director Greg Myers agreed.
“Anytime we see the numbers go down that’s good,” Myers said. “We have seen too much of the other way much of the last year. I think it’s a very good sign.”
Myers said firms in the Wapakoneta area that his office has regular contact with are starting to recall workers. As unemployment numbers creep lower, Myers said it could mean the economy is beginning to slowly rebound.
“I’m not an economist, but we had Dr. Ed Hill at the WAEDC banquet and he said it will take a long time, as long as five years,” Myers said, noting Hill is a economist from Cleveland State University. “But as long as it decreases incrementally month after month, it’s a good sign. We are blessed that we have a fairly diverse economy and we aren’t tied to a single industry.”
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 12 January 2010 )
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