Summit County’s jobless rate fell to 7 percent in March.
Unemployment rates dropped in 85 of Ohio’s 88 counties last month, according to state figures released Tuesday.
Summit County’s jobless rate was 7.3 percent in February and 7.5 percent a year ago.
Akron’s unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent in March from 8 percent in February and 8.3 percent a year ago.
Cuyahoga Falls had a jobless rate of 6.5 percent last month, down from 6.9 percent in February and 7.2 percent in March 2012.
The county and city unemployment rates were not adjusted to take into account seasonal factors. Ohio had an unadjusted unemployment rate last month of 7.3 percent; the seasonally adjusted rate was 7.1 percent.
The number of Summit County residents counted as employed in March reached its highest level for the month since 2008. There were 263,000 people counted as working in March, up from 261,100 in February and up from 259,200 in March 2012. There were 19,800 people counted as unemployed in the county last month.
Since 2000, Summit County employment in March peaked at 277,800 in 2008, with 16,900 people counted as unemployed. The jobless rate then was 5.7 percent. The fewest number of people employed in Summit County since 2000 in March was in 2010 when 257,100 people were counted as working and 31,900 counted as unemployed. The jobless rate three years ago was 11 percent.
The unemployment figures do not include people who are jobless but have stopped looking for work or who are working part time and want a full-time job.
In other jobs-related news released Tuesday, the state said that the number of people working in Summit and Portage counties grew by 1,300 from February to 325,400 in March. Goods-producing industries in the two-county Akron metro area added 200 jobs, while the service industry added 1,100 jobs. The number of people working in the two-county metro area was up 5,000 from March 2012.
Mercer County in west Ohio had the lowest unemployment rate in the state at 4.6 percent. Pike County in southern Ohio had the worst jobless rate at 13.4 percent.
Jim Mackinnon can be reached at 330-996-3544 or jmackinnon@thebeaconjournal.com.