January, 22, 2000
Seneca County's unemployment on the rise
By Jefferson Wolfe
Staff Writer
Seneca County's unemployment rate rose almost a percent in December, but it does not reflect a significant change in the county's economy.
According to statistics released Friday by the Ohio Bureau of Employment Services, Seneca County's unemployment rate went from 4.4 percent in November to 5.3 percent in December. In December 1998, the rate was 5 percent.
Dennis Brown, office manager for the Tiffin office of the Ohio Bureau of Employment Services, said there were some holiday-related plant shutdowns that affected Seneca County's workers. However, the plants at which they were employed were out of this area, and the shutdowns did not involve Seneca County businesses.
One of the reasons this county's plants were able to stay open was that the holidays fell on Fridays, allowing for a four-day work week and a long weekend schedule, Brown said. Had the holidays fallen in the middle of the week, there may have been a different result, he said.
Also, the strong economy helped keep employers open.
"The economy's strong, so they've got a demand for their products," Brown said.
The closure of Tiffin's Essex plant had a small impact on the numbers, but the layoffs were gradual and most of those workers were able to get jobs elsewhere, he said. The Tiffin office of the OBES was involved in finding jobs for those workers.
Overall, in December, Seneca County had an estimated workforce of 28,800 people, of whom 1,500 were not employed. In December 1998, the county had an estimated 29,200 workers.
Around the area, unemployment conditions in adjacent counties included:
* Huron and Seneca counties experienced a similar increase, .9 percent. Huron County also had the highest December rate at 7.3 percent. In November, the rate had been 6.2 percent.
* Sandusky County gained .3 percent, going from 4.7 to 5 percent. Last December, that county's rate was 5.6 percent.
* Hancock County unemployment increased In December, but only by .1 percent, from 2.4 to 2.5 percent. Last December, Hancock had a rate of 2.9 percent.
* Wyandot County stayed the same at 3.9 percent. In December 1998, the rate was 3.7 percent.
* Wood County dropped .3 percent in December, from 3.0 to 2.7 percent. The rate was 2.8 percent in December, 1998.
* Crawford County had the greatest decline at .5 percent. That county went from 5.1 to 4.4 percent. In December, 1998, Crawford County's rate was 4.9 percent.