Jobless rate in Butler County ticks up

Unemployment rates in Butler County and Hamilton edged up in July 2017 compared to last July, according to new state numbers released Tuesday.

Butler County’s unemployment rate of 4.9 percent was just a fraction higher than the 4.6 percent recorded last July, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

In Hamilton, the unemployment rate of 5.1 percentwas slightly higher than the 4.9 percent seen last July.

The rates in both Butler County and Hamilton were higher than in Hamilton County, where the levels were 4.8 percent in July, and 4.5 percent last July.

In Cincinnati, the unemployment percentage was 5.4 percent in July, up from 5.2 percent in July 2016.

Unemployment was a bit lower in the nearby counties of Preble (4.7 percent); Warren (4.4 percent); and Clermont (4.7 percent), but higher in Montgomery County (5.2 percent).

As for other cities that are tracked locally, unemployment was at 6.4 percent in Dayton, and 4.4 percent in Kettering.

Among all Ohio counties, the lowest unemployment rate was in Mercer County, which had a 3.5 percent rate last month. The highest was found in Trumbull County, which had a 8.7 percent jobless rate.

For the state as a whole, the jobless rate was 5.5 percent, up half a percentage point compared to July 2016 and up a tenth of a point from June this year.

City and county unemployment figures are not adjusted for seasonal hiring patterns and, therefore, do not coincide with the adjusted jobless rate for the state and the nation.

Staff writer Tom Gnau contributed to this report.

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