Jobless rate rises throughout the Valley

By Don Shilling

Youngstown has the highest jobless rate — 14.5% — of any city in Ohio.

The area’s unemployment rate has risen for two straight months, a sign that the economy is still struggling.

Economists have said the national recession may have already ended, but the Mahoning Valley jobless rate rose to 13.4 percent in November from 12.7 percent in October.

“We’re not out of the woods yet despite what you hear in the national media,” said Bert Cene, director of the Mahoning Columbiana Training Association. “I haven’t seen it, not here at least.”

The increase in the local unemployment rate in November followed a slight increase of 0.2 percent in October.

The area’s unemployment rate peaked at 14.9 percent in July and declined for two months before heading back up again.

Last month’s sizable gain was largely because of Mahoning County, which saw its jobless rate jump from 11.9 percent in October to 13.2 percent in November.

Cene said the increase was surprising because there were no announcements of major job losses in November. There must have been a number of smaller companies that cut jobs, he said.

More job losses are on the way.

The MCTA, which operates the One Stop employment agencies in the two counties, has been informed that Ameripath is closing its medical laboratory in Boardman at the end of January. Cene said 55 jobs will be lost.

The unemployment rate in Trumbull County rose to 13.8 percent in November from 13.5 percent in October.

In Columbiana County, the jobless rate increased to 13 percent in November from 12.7 percent in October.

The Mahoning Valley retained the distinction of having the city with Ohio’s highest unemployment rate. It had been Warren in October, but Youngstown topped all other cities in November.

Warren’s rate fell to 14.4 percent in November from 14.9 percent in October. Youngstown’s rate jumped to 14.5 percent in November, up from 14 percent.

The local unemployment rates are running nearly double what they were a year earlier.

Cene said it’s clear that people are struggling to find work. Visits to the One Stop offices in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties increased 25 percent this year to about 39,400.