Joblessness increased from 8.8 percent in January amid further weakness in the state's job market, the department said.

"We continue to see the mass layoffs that have occurred in Ohio over the last few months factor in to the unemployment rate and how it's calculated," said Brian Harter, a spokesman for the agency.

The last time unemployment was higher in Ohio was in May 1984, when the jobless rate was 9.6 percent, Brian Harter said. State unemployment hit an all-time high of 13.8 percent in December 1982 and January 1983.

Improvement in the state's employment picture depends on how quickly federal stimulus dollars can begin to create jobs in the state and whether a restructuring of the automotive industry can regenerate jobs in the Midwest, Harter said.