Jobless rate
Butler County continued its long-term trend of leading a nine-county region with the lowest unemployment rate in November at 5.1 percent of a 98,700-member work force, according to the state Department of Labor and Industry. Butler County's jobless rate fell by 0.4 of a percentage point. The other counties also lowered their jobless rates. The unemployment rate historically falls in November and December, mostly because of an upswing in seasonal jobs in the weeks leading up to Christmas. The numbers in larger type are the rates for November. The numbers in smaller type are the rates for a month earlier.