Unemployment up, but more people are in workforce

SANDUSKY — Unemployment went up in Erie County during August. It also went up nationally and in Ohio, according to new figures released by state officials. Erie County's unemployment rate in August totaled 3.9%, up from 3.6% in July. Ohio's unemployment rate equaled 3.4% in August, up from 3.3% in July, but lower than the 4.1% recorded in August 2022. The U.S. unemployment rate stood at 3.8%, up from 3.5% in July and 3.7% in August of last year. The unemployment rate measures the rate among people actively looking for work. More people are looking for jobs, state and national officials noted, so the rise in unemployment is somewhat misleading. The number of people currently employed remains strong. While Ohio's unemployment rate rose slightly, it remained historically low, and the number of people working actually rose. "Ohio's nonagricultural wage and salary employment increased 3,500 over the month (in August.) This marks the highest payroll employment reported since the series started in 1990," according to a state press release. Among the 88 counties in Ohio, unemployment ranged from a low of 2.5% in Mercer County to 5.5% in Jefferson County. Here are county unemployment rates for counties near Sandusky: Lorain County, 3.8%; Ottawa County, 3.8%; Huron County, 3.6%; Seneca County, 3.6%, and Sandusky County, 3.5%. Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor Julie Su noted that more people are looking for jobs and said that explains why the national unemployment rate went up. "As more people entered the labor market looking for work, the labor force participation rate increased to a post-pandemic recovery high of 62.8%. The unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 3.8% from 3.5% in July because more people saw an opportunity to work, and they started looking for a job. This is another sign of the optimism that people are feeling about this economy — they're not sitting on the sidelines," Su said. In August 2023, the labor force participation rate in Ohio was 62.1%, unchanged from July 2023 but up from 61.4% in August 2022. The American economy added 187,000 jobs in August, an indication that the economy remains strong, Su said.