Unemployment rate for Toledo, area counties continue steady improvement

4/22/2014

Unemployment rates in Toledo and Lucas County continue to show considerable improvement from last year, state officials said today.

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services said Toledo's estimated unemployment rate for March was 7 percent. In 2013, officials estimated the county's March unemployment rate at 9.4 percent. In Lucas County, the March rate was 6.6 percent, down from 8.8 percent last year.

Both rates were also down slightly from February, though because the estimates are not seasonally adjusted, officials caution against comparing one month to the next. The number of jobs was unchanged from February in both the county and city.

The story was the same across the area. All four counties that make up metropolitan Toledo showed considerable improvement from 2013. 

Erie County's unemployment rate was 6.7 percent in March, down from 7.7 percent in February and 8.3 percent in March, 2013. In Ottawa County, where a significant portion of the economy is based on summer tourism, the March unemployment rate was 10.2 percent, down from 11.3 percent in February and 12.2 percent in March, 2013.

Wood County again had the area's lowest unemployment rate at 5.8 percent. The state said Wood County's unemployment rate in February was 6.3 percent. In March, 2013, Wood County's unemployment rate was 7.4 percent.

The state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for March was 6.1 percent, the lowest level in six years. However, employment growth last month was tepid, with employers adding a net of just 600 jobs.