Ohio's unemployment rate last month jumped to 10.5 percent, marking the first increase in three months as the jobless numbers climbed by 24,000.
The figures, released yesterday by the state Department of Job and Family Services, said the rate climbed from 10.1 percent in September and was higher than 6.8 percent in October, 2008. The highest rate this year was 11.2 percent in July.
The number of jobless increased to 618,000 last month even as employment rose by 1,400 to nearly 5.1 million, the state said.
"Ohio's labor market continued to show weakness in October," said Douglas Lumpkin, director of the state's job services agency.
Ohio joblessness had fallen in both August and September. Officials said the reason was that job seekers were getting discouraged and dropping out of the labor force. October marked the seventh straight month of double-digit unemployment.
It is unclear whether the increase in the state rate means higher numbers for local counties. The county rates will be released Tuesday.Michigan's rate of 15.1 percent, the highest in the nation, was released Wednesday. The national rate in October was 10.2 percent, up from 9.8 percent the month before.
Nationally, more than half of the states added jobs in October, though economists said many of the gains likely occurred in temporary employment.
That's customarily a positive sign. Employers usually hire temporary workers before they add full-time jobs.
Overall, 28 states added jobs in October. That's up from only seven in September and is the largest number to record increases since 33 states did so in February, 2008, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a think tank.
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