Updated: Cleveland Heights Unemployment Rate Drops

The unemployment rate in Cleveland Heights dropped from 6.2 percent in November to 5.5 percent in December, according to the most recent numbers from the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services.

It is now for the lowest unemployment rate in Ohio cities with more than 50,000 people. (Cleveland Heights is still categorized that way with the ODJFS though its population dropped by more than 7 percent to 46,121 from 49,958 in 2000, according to the .)

Mayor Ed Kelley said the unemployment rate in Cleveland Heights is usually lower than the average because of the hardworking people in the city and the proximity to University Hospitals, Case Western Reserve University and other schools, hospitals, organizations and businesses.

"No matter what the economic situation is, whether it's good times or bad times, the unemployment rate in Cleveland Heights is usually lower," said Mayor Ed Kelley. "We have a very diverse workforce and people tend to be very hardworking people in Cleveland Heights, and people know that. That's why they hire Cleveland Heights people to work for them."

The only cities of any size that are included in public ODJFS statistics to have a lower unemployment rate in Ohio were Dublin (4.7 percent,) Upper Arlington (4.9 percent), Westerville (5.1 percent), Gahanna (5.2 percent), Mason City (5.4 percent) and Shaker Heights (5.4 percent). Westlake, Strongsville, Hilliard and Kent also had a 5.5 percent unemployment rate.

There are 25,900 people in the Cleveland Heights labor force as of December 2011, and 1,400 are unemployed, according to the ODJFS.

However, , the labor force in Cleveland Heights has shrunk by nearly 1,000. At that time, there were 26,800 people in the labor force in Cleveland Heights, and 2,000 were unemployed.

The unemployment rate in Cuyahoga County also dropped slightly, from 7.3 percent in November to 7.1 percent in December.

Ohio's unemployment rate remained the same at 7.6 percent.