Lorain County’s 11.5 percent jobless rate for February is the highest since the recession began in December 2007.

The rate, which is not seasonally adjusted, topped January’s 11 percent unemployment.

Factors for the county’s increase over January include a 1 percent rise in claims filed for unemployment benefits, and more people seeking work but not finding it, according to Keith Ewald, chief of the Bureau of Market Labor Market for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

“There’s a larger pool of people seeking a limited number of jobs,’’ Ewald said. “Most are not finding any work. What growth there is in the job market isn’t enough for the number of job seekers coming in.”

In Elyria, the rate rose to 11.5 percent in February from 11.1 percent in January.

In Lorain, unemployment rose from 12.3 percent in January to 12.8 percent in February.

The statewide unemployment rate, which was recorded at 10.9 percent for February, seasonally adjusted. The unadjusted rate was 11.8 percent. Statewide, the number of unemployed workers has increased by 99,000 in the past 12 months, according to the agency.

Jobless claims came from all sectors, according to Ewald.

“They didn’t seem to point to any one industry,’’ he said. “It was pretty diverse and widespread.”

The area’s bleak employment picture reflects in part “the pull of the recession going on as long as it has,” Ewald said.

Overall, Lorain County ranked 65th among Ohio’s 88 counties, where a high of 19.1 percent unemployment rate was recorded in Ottawa County to a low of 8.2 percent in Delaware County.

Neighboring counties continued to be among the best and worst for unemployment.

Medina County’s 10 percent jobless rate put it among only nine Ohio counties with unemployment at or below 10 percent. Huron County’s 18.1 percent gave it the distinction of being among only six counties with jobless rates exceeding 18 percent.

While Lorain County experienced slightly higher unemployment in February than the previous month, 56 of Ohio’s 88 counties saw declines, which was a noticeable change from January, when unemployment rose in all but one of Ohio’s 88 counties. Part of that across-the-board  increase was blamed on seasonal layoffs following the holidays and a near-total idling of construction work.

The nation as a whole can’t expect its economic health to perk up soon, Ewald said.

“Forecasts from most economists suggest the jobless rate will hold relatively high and be slow to come down,’’ he said. “That’s especially true of Ohio, which has had such heavy reliance on the auto industry and manufacturing — and taken a bigger share of hits from the recession.”

While there’s a potential for some upturnsduring the spring and summer months, “it’s fair to say most economists expect it to be at least several years before we really see significant change,” Ewald said.