8/22/17 – 10:50 A.M.

Unemployment continues to creep upward in Hancock County. Numbers reported by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services show a 4.1 percent unemployment rate in July. That’s up from 3.9 percent in June. The local unemployment rate has risen slightly every month since the May report.

The same trend is true in Putnam County. The latest figures show a 4.1 percent jobless rate. That’s up from 3.7 percent in June and 3 percent in April.

Wyandot County has the lowest jobless rate in the area at 3.9 percent. All other area counties are above 5 percent unemployment. Hardin County has the highest unemployment rate in our region at 6 percent.