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 First-year teacher Bethany McGaughy reads to her students Wednesday at Cridersville Elementary School. Staff photo/JenniferTangeman By JENNIFER TANGEMAN
Staff Writer
CRIDERSVILLE — Students at Cridersville Elementary School building agree on one thing they like about their new school — it’s big.
“It’s nice, it’s clean, and it’s big,” a fourth-grader studying in Deb Eley’s classroom said.
Students seemed to find a common thread to every facet of the new building, even the bathrooms.
“I like the new bathrooms— those things are huge,” Zac Winget said.
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Thursday, 23 July 2009 |
By MIKE BURKHOLDER
Staff Writer
ST. MARYS — As the unemployment rate for June hovers at more than 11 percent, area officials say they hope to see changes in the coming months.
The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services released Tuesday its county-by-county unemployment figures, with Auglaize County reaching 11.7 percent — more than double the 5.3 percent reported was last year and 0.5 percent more than last month. According to state figures, of the 27,000 county labor force, 3,200 are unemployed.
Wapakoneta Area Economic Development Council Executive Director Greg Myers said the numbers join a growing trend in the area.
However, Myers said the rates are among the lowest in the region.
“For those families that are on unemployment ors on furloughs, it’s devastating,” Myers said. “It’s hard to keep up with a budget when your income has been reduced 15 to 20 percent.
“We hope things turn around and we are fortunate that it is lower than many of our neighboring counties and significantly lower than urban areas,” he said.
Surrounding counties share similar rates with Allen County at 11.7 percent, Shelby County at 13.5 percent, Darke County at 11.7 percent and Van Wert County at 15.2 percent. Mercer County, one of only 14 counties to be below 10 percent, reported at 9.4 percent.
Auglaize County also ranked at the 53rd among Ohio’s 88 counties in unemployment rates, meaning 52 other counties have higher rates.
The lowest rate in the state is Delaware County with 7.5 percent.
Ohio has a state unemployment rate of 11.2 percent, up from 10.4 percent last month. Last year at this time, the state unemployment rate was 6.6 percent.
Unemployment rates are higher for a handful of Ohio cities. Toledo has a rate of 15.6 percent, with Youngstown close behind it at 15.2 percent. Dayton is at 13.7 percent.
With unemployment steadily climbing, Myers said it is important for residents to know about the social services that are available to them. Entities like Agape Ministries, Mercy Unlimited and church groups offer a variety of services.
“We have a pretty good social safety net here in northwest Ohio,” Myers said.
Myers said his office has regular discussions with Wapakoneta businesses and those in the surrounding area.
During conversations, Myers said business leaders often bring up the same concern.
“They are concerned with utility rates,” Myers said. “As firms try to find a way to maintain workers’ hours, they are looking at cutting costs and utility rates are always at the top of the list.”
St. Marys Safety-Service Director Tom Hitchcock said it is tough to gain a local picture of unemployment rates since the county figure is not broken up among each entity.
Still, Hitchcock said the city has noticed a slow down among its industrial base.
“We don’t know if we are at 10 percent or 13 percent or lower,” Hitchcock said. “We do try and stay as informed as we can.”
St. Marys recently saw a handful of new businesses open in the past few weeks — something Hitchcock said could help local numbers.
“We do have some positives going for us,” Hitchcock said. “Anytime you see people re-opening things, it’s good.”
New Bremen Village Administrator Wayne York said the increase surprised him.
However York said he believes the worst may be over.
“This is unscientific, but if you watch the parking lots, it appears we have already taken a hit,” York said. “Our lots are at the same levels they have been for months. Watching the parking lots is a real good indicator.”
York also said he plans to watch another indicator to gauge the economic recovery.
“I personally will be looking at Safeway’s lot every week to see when there is an increase in automobiles — that will be an indicator on the overall economy,” York said, noting corrugated box production is often linked to economic activity. “That’s an advance on what data Wall Street generates.”
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Last Updated ( Friday, 24 July 2009 )
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