Counties with the highest unemployment rate in Ohio
Unemployment rates, while significantly lower than the alarming pandemic peak of 14.7% experienced in April 2020, remain a subject of concern, notably as economic experts bandy around the idea of a potential recession by 2023. The last economic recession—the Great Recession of 2008-2010—sent rates up to 10% as of October 2009. It was not until the spring of 2019 that unemployment finally went down to the same level it sits at now.
As of October of this year, national unemployment is at 3.7%, 0.2% higher than in September. Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates by state demonstrate a rather sizable spectrum, ranging from just 2.0% in Minnesota, to 4.5% in Illinois and 4.7% in the District of Columbia. Further breakdown by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows yet another county-based spectrum within each state.
To that end, Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rate in Ohio using data from the BLS. Counties are ranked by unemployment rate in September 2022.
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#50. Defiance County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -0.3%
- Total labor force: 17,696 (656 unemployed)
#49. Henry County
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -0.5%
- Total labor force: 12,955 (479 unemployed)
#48. Hocking County
--- 1 month change: -0.3%
--- 1 year change: -0.3%
- Total labor force: 12,894 (482 unemployed)
#47. Medina County
--- 1 month change: -0.1%
--- 1 year change: 0.0%
- Total labor force: 98,346 (3,676 unemployed)
#46. Seneca County
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: 0.0%
- Total labor force: 26,694 (991 unemployed)
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#45. Stark County
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -0.6%
- Total labor force: 179,497 (6,705 unemployed)
#44. Ashtabula County
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -0.7%
- Total labor force: 43,009 (1,678 unemployed)
#43. Clark County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -0.6%
- Total labor force: 61,436 (2,372 unemployed)
#42. Lake County
--- 1 month change: -0.1%
--- 1 year change: -0.2%
- Total labor force: 125,360 (4,879 unemployed)
#41. Muskingum County
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -0.3%
- Total labor force: 40,415 (1,565 unemployed)
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#40. Perry County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -0.8%
- Total labor force: 15,865 (622 unemployed)

#39. Summit County
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -0.6%
- Total labor force: 261,067 (10,055 unemployed)
#38. Brown County
--- 1 month change: -0.8%
--- 1 year change: -0.5%
- Total labor force: 19,171 (766 unemployed)
#37. Clinton County
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -0.5%
- Total labor force: 17,843 (721 unemployed)
#36. Erie County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -0.9%
- Total labor force: 37,129 (1,478 unemployed)
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#35. Hardin County
--- 1 month change: -0.8%
--- 1 year change: -0.5%
- Total labor force: 13,157 (532 unemployed)
#34. Huron County
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -0.3%
- Total labor force: 27,652 (1,110 unemployed)

#33. Montgomery County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -0.7%
- Total labor force: 244,869 (9,739 unemployed)
#32. Allen County
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -1.5%
- Total labor force: 46,671 (1,905 unemployed)
#31. Athens County
--- 1 month change: -1.2%
--- 1 year change: -0.3%
- Total labor force: 27,191 (1,113 unemployed)
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#30. Carroll County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -0.3%
- Total labor force: 12,522 (512 unemployed)
#29. Guernsey County
--- 1 month change: -0.8%
--- 1 year change: -0.5%
- Total labor force: 17,774 (732 unemployed)
#28. Marion County
--- 1 month change: -2.3%
--- 1 year change: 0.0%
- Total labor force: 28,401 (1,174 unemployed)
#27. Richland County
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -0.7%
- Total labor force: 50,906 (2,105 unemployed)
#26. Vinton County
--- 1 month change: -0.9%
--- 1 year change: -2.1%
- Total labor force: 5,462 (226 unemployed)
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#25. Washington County
--- 1 month change: -0.7%
--- 1 year change: -0.5%
- Total labor force: 26,891 (1,092 unemployed)
#24. Columbiana County
--- 1 month change: -0.8%
--- 1 year change: -0.5%
- Total labor force: 45,724 (1,925 unemployed)
#23. Crawford County
--- 1 month change: -1.3%
--- 1 year change: -0.8%
- Total labor force: 17,738 (748 unemployed)
#22. Ottawa County
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -0.2%
- Total labor force: 21,114 (885 unemployed)
#21. Highland County
--- 1 month change: -0.7%
--- 1 year change: -0.7%
- Total labor force: 17,248 (739 unemployed)
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#20. Lawrence County
--- 1 month change: -1.0%
--- 1 year change: -0.1%
- Total labor force: 23,050 (998 unemployed)
#19. Gallia County
--- 1 month change: -0.7%
--- 1 year change: -0.3%
- Total labor force: 11,729 (516 unemployed)

#18. Lucas County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -0.8%
- Total labor force: 205,820 (9,080 unemployed)
#17. Morgan County
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -0.5%
- Total labor force: 6,757 (300 unemployed)
#16. Pike County
--- 1 month change: -1.0%
--- 1 year change: -2.4%
- Total labor force: 11,089 (492 unemployed)
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#15. Adams County
--- 1 month change: -0.9%
--- 1 year change: -0.8%
- Total labor force: 11,010 (494 unemployed)
#14. Harrison County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -0.8%
- Total labor force: 6,484 (292 unemployed)
#13. Lorain County
--- 1 month change: -0.2%
--- 1 year change: -0.4%
- Total labor force: 154,506 (6,895 unemployed)

#12. Mahoning County
--- 1 month change: -0.8%
--- 1 year change: -0.7%
- Total labor force: 96,897 (4,391 unemployed)
#11. Belmont County
--- 1 month change: -0.7%
--- 1 year change: -0.3%
- Total labor force: 27,768 (1,289 unemployed)
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#10. Coshocton County
--- 1 month change: -0.7%
--- 1 year change: -0.2%
- Total labor force: 13,726 (630 unemployed)
#9. Jackson County
--- 1 month change: -0.7%
--- 1 year change: -1.6%
- Total labor force: 12,335 (566 unemployed)
#8. Sandusky County
--- 1 month change: +0.2%
--- 1 year change: +0.7%
- Total labor force: 30,566 (1,398 unemployed)
#7. Scioto County
--- 1 month change: -0.9%
--- 1 year change: -0.8%
- Total labor force: 29,166 (1,378 unemployed)
#6. Trumbull County
--- 1 month change: -0.7%
--- 1 year change: -0.5%
- Total labor force: 81,862 (3,817 unemployed)
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#5. Cuyahoga County
--- 1 month change: -0.1%
--- 1 year change: -0.6%
- Total labor force: 605,628 (29,553 unemployed)
#4. Meigs County
--- 1 month change: -0.9%
--- 1 year change: -0.2%
- Total labor force: 8,809 (453 unemployed)
#3. Jefferson County
--- 1 month change: -1.0%
--- 1 year change: -0.2%
- Total labor force: 26,925 (1,399 unemployed)
#2. Noble County
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -0.3%
- Total labor force: 4,555 (235 unemployed)
#1. Monroe County
--- 1 month change: -1.0%
--- 1 year change: -0.3%
- Total labor force: 5,087 (279 unemployed)
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