BUSH ADMINISTRATION Lost jobs remain an issue in Ohio

Eight Ohio cities made the top 100.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Youngstown-Warren area ranks 36th among cities in the total number of lost jobs under the President Bush administration, according to an analysis conducted by a Democratic committee.
America Coming Together, that supports U.S. Sen. John Kerry's presidential campaign, released the results of the survey Thursday showing that the Youngstown-Warren area lost about 7,500 private-sector jobs since Bush took office in January 2001. Since May 2003, the Youngstown-Warren area lost 2,600 jobs, the survey states.
The Youngstown-Warren area joins seven other areas in Ohio to make the top 100 list. The Ohio city placing the highest in the survey is Cleveland at No. 14 with 28,800 lost jobs.
ACT is designated by the IRS as a 527 tax-exempt, nonprofit organization that engages in political activities and raises money for presidential candidates. Under federal law, groups such as ACT aren't permitted to coordinate their efforts with a candidate.
ACT spent more than $1.1 million and deployed at least 700 people in Ohio in the six months ending in April, according to the Center for Public Integrity, a political watchdog group.
"Ohio still isn't experiencing the recovery that many people are talking about," said Dennis Morgan, a former Ohio Legislative Budget Office executive director, who reviewed ACT's findings for the agency.
Consistent
The study is consistent with the negative campaigning of Kerry, ACT and other supporters of Kerry's, said Kevin Madden, a Bush-Cheney spokesman.
"It's doom and gloom, and anger about everything," he said. "Our campaign has been consistently facing the issues of Ohio, including how to grow the economy."
Madden didn't dispute the survey's findings, saying he hadn't read the report.
But he said unemployment in Ohio declined by 0.2 percent in May to 5.6 percent from 5.8 percent in April, and the state added about 30,000 jobs this year, Madden said.
"If you look at your area, Northeast Ohio, there's a lot of positive growth in that area," he said. "Economic indicators are pointing in the right direction, yet Kerry wants to increase taxes and regulations."
The ACT survey, based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, ranks Ohio fourth among the 50 states in the percentage of jobs lost during the Bush administration. Youngstown-Warren is also among nine Ohio areas in the top 100 for the percentage of jobs lost in the past year, the study states. Youngstown-Warren placed 29th nationwide with 3.2 percent of the area's total jobs lost in a year, the survey states.
skolnick@vindy.com