Unemployment continues to fall in Williams County, while Fulton County’s rate held steady.
Williams County’s November rate (not seasonally adjusted) rate was 3.9 percent, down from 4.1 in October. Fulton County remained at 4.0 percent.
The state and national not seasonally adjusted rates were both 4.4 percent for November.
Ohio’s seasonally adjusted rate for November was 4.9 percent, unchanged from October. The national rate was 4.6 percent, down from 4.9 percent in October. The state’s rate last year was 4.7 percent; the U.S. rate was 5.0 percent.
Seasonal adjustment is a statistical technique that attempts to measure and remove the influences of predictable seasonal patterns to reveal how employment and unemployment change from month to month.
As a general rule, the monthly employment and unemployment numbers reported in the news are seasonally adjusted data. Seasonally adjusted data are useful when comparing several months of data. Annual average estimates are calculated from the not seasonally adjusted data series.
Area counties show Lucas at 4.8 (down 0.2), Henry, 4.2 (up 0.2); Paulding, 4.1 (down 0.1); Defiance, 4.3 (unchanged) and Wood 3.7 (down 0.3).
Statewide, Mercer County still has the lowest rate at 2.8 percent, while Monroe has the highest at 9.0 percent. Both dropped from October.
The state’s seasonally adjusted wage and salary employment increased 9,100 over the month, from a revised 5,497,300 in October to 5,506,400 in November 2016.
The number of workers unemployed in Ohio in November was 278,000, down 2,000 from 280,000 in October. The number of unemployed has increased by 9,000 in the past 12 months from 269,000. The November unemployment rate for Ohio was 0.2 percentage points higher than the November 2015 rate of 4.7 percent.
The U.S. unemployment rate for November was 4.6 percent, 0.3 percentage points lower than in October 2016, and 0.4 percentage points lower than November 2015.
Ohio’s non-agricultural seasonally adjusted wage and salary employment increased 9,100 over the month, from a revised 5,497,300 in October to 5,506,400 in November, according to the latest business establishment survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor (Bureau of Labor Statistics) in cooperation with ODJFS.
Goods-producing industries, at 909,700, added 2,200 jobs as gains in construction (+3,600) exceeded losses in manufacturing (-1,000) and mining and logging (-400). The private service-providing sector, at 3,816,300, gained 5,600 jobs.
Employment gains in leisure and hospitality (+10,300) and financial activities (+800) surpassed losses in educational and health services (-2,100), trade, transportation, and utilities (-1,100), professional and business services (-1,000), other services (-800), and information (-500).
Government employment, at 780,400, increased 1,300 as gains in local (+1,100) and state (+500) government outweighed losses in federal government (-300).
From November 2015 to November 2016, nonagricultural wage and salary employment grew 49,800. Employment in goods-producing industries increased 500. Construction added 5,500 jobs. Manufacturing lost 3,000 jobs as losses in durable goods (-8,600) surpassed gains in nondurable goods (+5,600). Mining and logging lost 2,000 jobs.
The private service-providing sector added 37,800 jobs. Employment gains in leisure and hospitality (+16,200), educational and health services (+9,800), trade, transportation, and utilities (+7,900), financial activities (+7,600), and other services (+3,000) exceeded losses in professional and business services (-6,600) and information (-100).
Government employment increased 11,500 in local (+6,000), state (+4,300), and federal (+1,200) government.
James Pruitt may be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com