COLUMBUS – The unemployment rate in central Ohio remained steady at 4.2 percent in July, unchanged from June, according to data released Tuesday morning by the state.
That follows two straight months of increases after the region’s jobless rate fell to 3.8 percent in April, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
More encouraging was the third consecutive monthly increase in the labor force, to 1.05 million from April’s 1.02 million.
Employers added 5,900 jobs during the month in the 10-county region and have added 24,300 since July 2014.
The unemployment rate in the metropolitan Columbus area was the lowest of all of Ohio’s largest metro areas. Cleveland, at 5.6 percent had the highest.
Delaware County, at 3.5 percent, had the lowest unemployment rate of the counties in the Columbus region. Perry County had the highest at 6.5 percent.
Mercer County can boast the state’s lowest unemployment rate at 3.3 percent while Monroe County is struggling with the highest at 9.9 percent.