Ohio unemployment rises to 11 percent in March

COLUMBUS (AP) — A slow and steady rise in unemployment has put Ohio’s jobless rate at its highest level in more than a quarter-century.

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services said today that unemployment rose slightly during March to 11.0 percent, from 10.9 percent in February.

Department spokesman Brian Harter says last summer’s unemployment rates higher than 11 percent have since been revised downward. That means the March rate is the highest the state has seen since September 1983.

Still, Department Director Douglas Lumpkin says there was little change in the state’s job market last month.

The number of unemployed workers was 655,000, up from 648,000 in February. The number of people employed outside of farms also increased in March, by 4,900.