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Unemployed people look over a job listing board at The Montgomery County Job Center in Dayton, Ohio. Currently, the unemployment rate in Ohio is among the highest in the nation. (Chris Hondros/Getty Images)
The unemployment rate in Ohio is among the highest in the nation, and the U.S. Treasury Department said they are giving funds to help unemployed homeowners in the state deal with house payments and foreclosure. The state has been hit hard by the economic recession.
To cope with the problem nationwide, the Obama administration said they will give $600 million in federal funds to help states with many counties that have more than 12 percent unemployment. Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, North Carolina, and South Carolina will receive the funds, reported the Wall Street Journal last week.
The Treasury Department already provided some $1.5 billion in funds to states that were hit harder, including California, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, and Florida.
“These states have designed targeted programs with the potential to make a real difference in the lives of homeowners struggling to make their mortgage payments because of unemployment,” Treasury Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability Herb Allison told the Journal.
According to a report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics last week, the U.S. unemployment rate was still stagnant in the month of July at 9.5 percent, with no real notable change from the prior month.
However, as the Journal reported, the U.S. Labor Department, after the report was released, said the jobless rate could climb up another 0.1 percent to 9.6 percent after the statistics are fully analyzed.
