Cincinnati and Hamilton County are making a comeback. In August, the city dropped to 7.5 percent unemployment, down from 8.2 percent in July, according to new data released by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. The county dropped to 6.8 percent, down from 7.3 percent in July.
Ohio’s seasonally unadjusted rate saw a similarly large drop from 7.4 percent in July to 6.8 percent in August. The U.S. unadjusted rate dropped from 8.6 to 8.2 percent.
From a year-to-year basis, Cincinnati and Hamilton County saw even larger drops in unemployment. On August 2011, unemployment in Cincinnati was at 10 percent, 2.5 points higher than August 2012. Hamilton County was at 8.8 percent, 2 points higher than August 2012.
Greater Cincinnati’s seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate also saw large drops, remaining below the state and nation. The 15-county area dropped from 7.2 percent unemployment in July down to 6.7 percent in August. That is a 1.9-point drop from August 2011, which saw an 8.6 percent unemployment rate.
The federal and state unemployment rates are typically adjusted for seasonal factors, but the local rates are not. The adjusted unemployment rates for August were 7.2 percent for Ohio and 8.1 percent for the United States.
The unemployment rate only considers people who are unemployed and looking for work. People not looking for work are deemed to be outside of the labor force.
