(7-25-26) Ohio’s unemployment rate was 3.6% in June 2026, down slightly from 3.7% in May 2026 according to data released by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

Key Labor Statistics

  • State Rate: 3.6% (down 0.1% from May)
  • U.S. Rate: 4.2% for the same month
  • State Job Growth: Non-agricultural wage and salary employment increased by 5,500 over the month.
  • Labor Force Participation: Decreased to 61.6% in Ohio.

Mercer County had the state’s second lowest unemployment rate last month at 2.7%…Auglaize County had the third lowest rate at 2.9%.

Area rates ——

  • Shelby County – 3.1%
  • Van Wert County – 3.2%
  • Darke County – 3.5%
  • Allen County – 3.8%

Lowest unemployment rate in Ohio – Holmes County 2.6%

Highest unemployment rates…Trumbull and Athens Counties both were at 5.0%

In Indiana…

Indiana June 2026 Employment Report

INDIANAPOLIS (July 21, 2026) – The unemployment rate of the State of Indiana in June was recorded to be 3.3% according to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. By comparison, the national unemployment rate reported for June was 4.2%.

In addition, Indiana’s labor force participation rate is 63.2% compared to the national rate of 61.5%. This rate is the percentage of Hoosiers 16 and older that are either working or actively looking for work. Those not in the labor force include, primarily, students, retirees and other non-working populations, such as individuals unable to work due to a disability or illness, or adults responsible for their family’s childcare needs. Indiana’s total labor force stands at 3,491,269.

June 2026 total private employment is 2,843,400 an increase of 1,800 since May. 

Jay County’s unemployment rate came in at 3.3% in June, tied for the 27th-lowest rate in the state. The rate was up 0.4% percentage points from May, when County was tied for the 21st-lowest rate among Indiana’s 92 counties.

Pulaski County had the lowest rate in the state for the second month in a row at 2.6%. Union County followed at 2.8%.

Howard County extended its nearly two-year run with the highest unemployment rate, coming in at 5.1%. The only other county with a rate of 4.5% or higher was Lake County at 4.7%.

Area unemployment rates are as follows:

  • Adams County: 3.4%, up 0.4 percentage points, tied for 39th-lowest
  • Blackford County: 3.9%, up 0.4 percentage points, tied for ninth-highest
  • Delaware County: 4.2%, up 0.5 percentage points, tied for third-highest
  • Randolph County: 3.4%, up 0.3 percentage points, tied for 39th-lowest
  • Wells County: 2.9%, up 0.4 percentage points, third-lowest