The unemployment rates around northwest Ohio were significantly below last year’s jobless numbers for February. But several counties in the region were still above the state average of 4.8%. Henry County had the highest jobless rate last month at 5.9%; but that was down from 7.3% in February 2017. Fulton County’s unemployment hit 5% in February, down from 6.2% last year. Both Defiance County and Williams County reported big drops in jobless rates, and were below the state average. Defiance County’s rate fell from 5.9 to 4.5%; and Williams County hit 3.8%, down from 5.1 a year ago. Putnam County led the region with unemployment last month at 3.7%, down from 4.4. And Wood County and Paulding County both checked-in around 4% for their jobless rate.
The highest unemployment rate in Ohio was 10.4% in Monroe County; while Mercer County reported the lowest jobless rate in February at 2.9%.