Lakewood’s Unemployment Rate Drops to its Lowest in Three Years

6.5 percent.

It’s been nearly three years since Lakewood’s had an unemployment rate so low.

New figures released by the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services show that the number of unemployed Lakewood residents keeps dropping.

That’s good news for a in a county starved for jobs.

You’d have to go back to December 2008 — when the unemployment rate dipped to 6.2 percent — to find numbers so low.

Compare Lakewood’s rate to the national and state average, both at 9.1 percent.

“It was surprising,” said Lakewood Mayor Michael Summers. “It shows a relative change in position — to the good. When you get near 5 percent, you’re approaching structural full employment.”

The September data — the most recent available — shows Lakewood’s 6.5 rate is the lowest of the year. And it’s also one of the lowest among Cuyahoga County communities with populations of more 25,000 people.

Only Strongsville (5.8 percent), North Royalton (6.3 percent) and Westlake (6.4 percent) had lower rates. 

Summers said that about 75 percent of the city’s residents work outside of Lakewood — many of them in Cleveland.

“We know that there’s no social program more powerful than a job,” he said. “One month is not a trend — I hope it stays.”