Unemployment continues to rise

LIMA — The hard times continue to hit home for Ohio workers.Unemployment numbers rose in March across the state and throughout most of the region, leaving state officials blaming the economyOhio’s unemployment rate was 5.7 percent in March, up from 5.3 percent in February, according to data released Tuesday by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Ohio’s nonfarm wage and salary employment decreased 2,600 during the month to 5.42 million in March.Regionally, the percentage of workers filing for unemployment rose or remained steady in seven of the nine area counties. Allen County’s numbers rose to 6.7 percent, an increase of 0.2 percentage points from February. Putnam County saw unemployment rise from 5.5 percent in February to 6.1 percent in March. Only Mercer and Van Wert counties saw the numbers decline. Van Wert County officials saw their unemployment numbers spike to a high of 7.5 percent in February only to drop back down to a more typical 5.7 percent in March.Helen Jones-Kelley, director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, attributes the rise in unemployment to a slowing economy, particularly in the goods-production industry.“Ohio continued to feel the effects of a weaker economy in March,” Jones-Kelley said. “Overall, losses in goods-producing industries overshadowed smaller gains in the service-providing industries.”There were 8,700 jobs lost in goods-producing industries statewide, Jones-Kelley said. Losses of 7,200 jobs in durable goods and 1,000 jobs in nondurable goods reduced manufacturing by 8,200 jobs. The number of workers unemployed in Ohio in March was 344,000, up from 316,000 in February. The number of unemployed has increased by 15,000 in the past 12 months from 329,000. The March unemployment rate for Ohio was up from 5.5 percent in March 2007.The U.S. unemployment rate for March was 5.1 percent, up from 4.8 percent in February.