Ohio's unemployment rate was 6.5 pct in Feb.

COLUMBUS (AP) — Ohio’s unemployment rate dropped to 6.5 percent last month, the lowest rate in nearly six years, according to numbers released today by the state.

The seasonally adjusted rate was down from 6.9 percent in January and 7.1 percent in December, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

The rate is the lowest since June 2008, when it began trending upward as the Great Recession took hold. It also dipped below the national rate, which was 6.7 percent in February. That was up from 6.6 percent in January but well below the 7.7 percent national rate in February 2013.

The number of workers unemployed in Ohio in February was 377,000, down 18,000 from 395,000 in January. The number of unemployed has decreased by 44,000 in the past 12 months.

Ohio’s nonfarm employment decreased by 4,600, from a revised 5,284,600 in January to 5,280,000 in February, according to the latest business establishment survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor and the state.