3/13/18 – 11:37 A.M.

Unemployment rose slightly in Hancock County in January. The latest numbers from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services show a 3.5 percent unemployment rate in January, up from 3.4 percent in December. That’s still almost a full percentage point below the jobless rate in February of 2017.

Putnam County saw unemployment climb by half a percent, from 3.5 in December to 4 in January. That’s still below the 4.8 percent jobless rate in January of 2017.

All area counties saw in increase in jobless claims last month. The unemployment rate for all of Ohio is currently 5.1 percent.