Unemployment Rate Continues To Drop In Mentor

The unemployment rate in Mentor dropped to 5.3 percent in October, which is the best it has been since November 2008, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

By comparison, the city's unemployment rate was and 6.4 percent in August.

Similarly, the unemployment rate in Lake County dipped from 6.3 percent in September to 5.9 percent in October. The state's unemployment rate also dipped slightly from 8.5 percent to 8.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the national unemployment rate dipped a tenth of a percent to 9 percent in the last month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Mentor has maintained its title as the Ohio city with the lowest unemployment rate and a population of more than 50,000, according to Ron Traub, the city's director of economic development.

In fact, six of the 20 Ohio cities with a population of more than 50,000 have an unemployment rate above 10 percent.

Mentor's unemployment rate peaked in January and February of 2010 at 8.7 percent.