Dayton Business Journal...
Dayton region unemployment drops to 8.2%
by Ginger Christ
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 

Darke County: 7.7 percent, up from 7.6 percent in November and down from 10 percent in December 2010 

The Dayton-area unemployment rate continues to fall, reaching its lowest level in three years. 

The December jobless rate for the Dayton metropolitan statistical area was 8.2 percent, the lowest since November 2008, according to Tuesday data from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. 

The local unemployment rate was 8.3 percent in November and 9.8 percent in December 2010. 

The Dayton MSA includes Greene, Miami, Montgomery and Preble counties. 

The local unemployment rate fell during seven months in 2011. 

In the city of Dayton, the unemployment rate also improved, falling to the November 2008 levels. The city unemployment rate was 9.3 percent, down from 9.6 percent in November and 11.2 percent in December 2010. 

The Montgomery County jobless situation also improved in December. The unemployment rate fell to 8.5 percent, slipping from 8.6 percent in November, remaining well below the December 2010 rate of 10 percent. The last time the county unemployment rate was as low as it was in December was in November 2008. 

In the rest of Dayton region, rates fell in three counties and were unchanged from the previous month in four of the area’s nine counties. Preble County maintained the highest unemployment rate in the Dayton area. 

December unemployment rates by county: 

• Butler, 7.9 percent, unchanged from November and down from 8.9 percent in December 2010,

• Clark, 8 percent, unchanged from November and down from 9.7 percent in December 2010,

• Darke, 7.7 percent, up from 7.6 percent in November and down from 10 percent in December 2010,

• Greene, 7.6 percent, down from 7.7 percent in November and down from 9.2 percent in December 2010,

• Miami, 7.6 percent, up from 7.5 percent in November and down from 9.6 percent in December 2010,

• Preble, 8.9 percent, down from 9.2 percent in November and down from 10.3 percent in December 2010,

• Shelby, 7.7 percent, unchanged from November and down from 10.4 percent in December 2010, and

• Warren, 7 percent, unchanged from November and down from 8.4 percent in December 2010. 

Local January unemployment data will be released March 9. 

The Dayton region’s jobless rate is slightly higher than the Ohio average. Ohio’s unemployment rate was 7.6 percent in December, unchanged from November.