Business digest

REGION
Home & amp; Garden Showscheduled for April 13-15
BOARDMAN -- The Home Builders/Remodelers Association of Mahoning Valley will hold its annual HBA Home & amp; Garden Show on April 13-15 at the Canfield Fairgrounds in Canfield. Show times will be from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
The show will feature 46,000 square feet of exhibitors and an additional 10,000 square feet of gardens on display. More than 110 vendors are expected.
Temporary extensionsgranted for tax breaks
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Mahoning County Tax Incentive Review Council granted temporary extensions to 37 companies that receive tax abatements while more information is collected. The 37 companies are within the city's enterprise zone.
Herman Hill, director of business development and compliance at Mahoning-Youngstown Community Action Partnership, told review council members at a meeting Friday that letters have been sent to the companies. The letters ask for information about the companies' efforts to hire city residents, women and minorities. The review council will meet again Feb. 14 to examine the information.
Ohio's jobless raterises to 5.4 percent
YOUNGSTOWN -- Ohio's unemployment rate was 5.4 percent in November, up from 5.1 percent in October. Unemployment rates ranged from a low of 3.3 percent in Delaware County to 9.4 percent in Monroe County.
Local counties had these rates in November: Mahoning, 5.9 percent; Trumbull, 6 percent; and Columbiana, 6.1 percent. All of the local counties had rates of 5.4 percent in October. Youngstown recorded the highest rate among large cities, at 7.5 percent.
From Vindicator staff reports