Overview of Poverty and Unemployment in Lima and Bluffton

Allen County Community Needs Assessment 2002  81.3% of Allen County residents consider unemployment to be a “big” or “medium” community problem.  When asked the open-ended question “What do think is the single most important problem facing local families at the present time?” “unemployment/low wages” was mentioned most frequently (30.7%) and “poverty/financial stability” were mentioned 5 th and 6 th most frequently by Allen County residents.

Allen County Community Needs Assessment 2002 Continued…  28.6 % of Allen County residents have cut the size of meals or skipped meals because there was not enough money to buy food compared to 15.8 % national survey.  Poverty relief programs were rated “very important” or “important” by 77.7% of Allen County residents.

Demographics  In Allen County, there are 108,473 people, 40,646 households, and 28,208 families residing in the county.  The median income for a household in the county is $37,048, and the median income for a family is $44,723. Males have a median income of $35,546 versus $23,537 for females.  12.10% of the population and 9.60% of families are below poverty line.  Out of the total population, 17.00% of those under the age of 18 and 9.60% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.  In Lima the Median Household income for black people is $23, 957 and $39,175 for other races.  In 1999 the poverty rate for Lima was 22.9%.  Bluffton’s median family income was $54,948 in  5.7% of the Bluffton’s population is in poverty.

Lima’s Breakdown of household income in 1999

On the positive side  The percentage of families in Allen County below poverty level decreased from 10.4% in 1990 to 9.6% in  The percentage of Allen County families with related children under 18 years of age who are below poverty level decreased from 15.4% in 1990 to 14.9% in  The percentage of individuals 65 years of age and older who are below poverty level decreased from 11.5% in 1900 to 9.6% in 2000.

But still more needs to be done  Lima schools food services director Carrie Woodruff said to a student who receives breakfast at school will want more on Monday than most other days, as he hasn’t had much to eat at home all weekend.  Lima schools officials estimates that 30 percent to 40 percent of the districts 5,000 students come from families that are just scraping by with children not having everything they need.

High School Graduation Rates for Allen County Public Schools and Ohio

Education Level of those 25 years and older, Allen County, , and Ohio 200 Allen County 1990 Allen County 2000 Ohio 2000 Less than 9 th grade 7.1 % 4.4%4.5% 9 th - 12 th grade, no diploma 16.7%13.1%12.6% High School diploma 42.6%42.6%36.1% Some college, no degree 16.2%18.7%19.9% Associate degree 6.0%7.8%5.9% Bachelor’s degree 7.9%8.5%13.7% Graduate or professional degree 3.5%4.9%7.5%

Unemployment Rate for Lima The Average Unemployment rate 2003 for Allen County was 7.0%