If unemployment rates could talk, January's Mercer County rate would say "Ouch!"

The county's jobless rate surged from 4.6 percent in December to 6.2 percent in January to give the county its highest rate in more than a year. Mercer County's unemployment rate fell smack in the middle of the Pennsylvania 6.1 rate and the U.S. rate of 6.3 percent. A year ago the county's rate was 6 percent.

In looking at local job creation the recession was felt as only 100 jobs were added to the county's job base in 2001 for a growth rate of 0.2 percent. In 2000 the county added 900 jobs for a growth rate of 1.8 percent.

Mercer County found 1,900 fewer of its residents were working in January as non-farm jobs plunged by 2,000.

There were a number of factors that resulted in the higher jobless rate such as layoffs in weather-related industries and manufacturing, post-holiday cutbacks in retail trade and fewer education-related jobs due to local private colleges returning from the holiday break.

Mercer County ranked 11th of the state's 43 labor market areas in terms of the best unemployment rate and ranked 23rd, tied with Snyder County, among the state's 67 counties.

Figures for January show the county's civilian labor force was 56,800, down from 57,900 in December while those employed totaled 53,300, compared to 55,200 in December.

Those unemployed surged from 2,700 in December to 3,500 in January.

Forest County by far had the highest unemployment rate in the state at 21.9 percent while Cumberland County had the lowest at 3.6 percent.

Surrounding county's jobless rates were: