COLUMBUS — Ohio’s jobless rate may be 10.5 percent but for the first time in a decade there’s a glimmer of hope in the state’s unemployment news, research analyst George Zeller reported on Friday, Nov. 27.

During the most recent four-week period, the average number of unemployment claims statewide has declined compared to the same period a year ago, the first time that’s happened in 10 years, Zeller found. Dayton-area counties mostly followed the trend.

“The end of soaring rates of increase in Ohio new unemployment claims is a very welcome positive development, despite the fact that new unemployment claims still remain at a level that is too high to indicate job growth in Ohio,” Zeller said in his report.

Statewide, the number of claims compared to 2008 dropped by 21.4 percent. In Montgomery County, the decline was 27.2 percent and in Clark County it was even higher, 34.8 percent.

The declines in other counties included: Miami, 16.9 percent; Darke, 35.9 percent; Preble, 32.8 percent; Greene, 6.3 percent and Warren 1.2 percent. In Butler County, unemployment claims climbed by .1 percent.

“We’re still losing jobs. The layoffs are too high. They are lower than last year. That’s good, but last year they were atrocious,” Zeller, based in Cleveland, said in a follow up interview.

The new data doesn’t mean the state is gaining more jobs than it is losing, said Zeller.

The state still is experiencing more that double the number of unemployment claims that it does when Ohio is experiencing job growth, said Zeller.

“We’re still not out of the woods,” Zeller said.

Contact this reporter at (614) 224-1608 or whershey@DaytonDailyNews.com.