Metro Toledo ranks among the best cities in the state in terms of hiring for the October through December period in a new survey. Adding workers is expected by 37 percent of area firms and cutting payroll is planned by 3 percent of companies in the fourth quarter of the year. The survey shows Toledo better than or equal to the hiring plans in 16 other metro areas in Ohio.

There is a geographical sameness to the bottom 10. Three lagging markets are in Michigan, and four are in next-door Ohio.

Unemployment is spiking upward in Toledo -- from 5.9 percent a year ago to 6.6 percent by the middle of 2007. The latter is the fifth-worst jobless rate in any major market. The number of jobs in Toledo is slowly trending in the opposite direction -- down 700 in the past 12 months.

Quick stats

• Private-sector jobs as of mid-2007: 286,300
• Unemployment rate as of mid-2007: 6.6%
• Private-sector trend since mid-2002: Lost 900 jobs
• Five-year growth rate: -0.3%
• Private-sector trend since mid-2006: Lost 700 jobs
• One-year growth rate: -0.2%

LANSING -- The Democrat-led state House continues to get tangled up in tax debates as it tries to resolve a projected budget crisis for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1. The House was again voting early today on a proposal to increase the personal income tax rate from the current 3.9 percent to 4.6 percent. The proposal could raise about $1.1 billion for the state next fiscal year, leaving more than $600 million of a potential deficit to be eliminated by cuts or other revenue sources.

All this week, Gov. Jennifer Granholm has showcased what the income tax funds in the budget -- public safety, health care and education. She said the tax hike was critical to protecting vulnerable citizens and to "save the state" from a government shutdown when the new fiscal year begins on Oct. 1.