‘I’ve never seen it this bad’

Staff/WIRE REPORTS

YOUNGSTOWN — January saw the largest job loss in one month in more than 30 years.

According to the U.S. Labor Department report Friday, 598,000 jobs were eliminated nationwide, which is the most for one month since the end of 1974. The lost jobs pushed the national unemployment rate up to 7.6 percent, surpassing the 7.5 percent expected by economists. The unemployment rate in December was 7.2 percent.

The unemployment rate for Ohio was 7.8 percent, according to the report, up from 5.8 percent for 2007.

The figure of nearly 600,000 eliminated jobs was more than the 524,000 anticipated. Since December 2007, the economy has lost 3.6 million jobs.

“I’ve never seen it this bad,” said Bill Turner, work force administrator in Trumbull County. “Only because it is so endemic and because it crosses all sectors. It’s not just region-specific. It’s the whole nation and the whole world.”

Factory work, such as the General Motors plant in Lordstown, saw the elimination of 207,000 jobs in January, which is the largest one-month drop since October 1982.

In the Mahoning Valley, 4,200 workers were idle as the Lordstown GM plant was closed for the month.

“Historically, it seems to be that because we’re so manufacturing-based, we’re the first ones to get into it and the last to get out,” Turner said.

Bert Cene, executive director of the Mahoning and Columbiana Training Association, agreed.

“We seem to get hit harder, and it seems like we tend to lag in the recoveries, too,” Cene said. “We don’t recover as quickly, and maybe it is because it takes more time or because of our demographics in the manufacturing sector.”

Cene added that the Valley is experiencing the “trickle-down effect” from larger corporations, such as GM, because the area is comprised of many smaller companies that depend on larger corporations for business.

“It impacts all of our small manufacturing,” Cene said. “Obviously these numbers are staggering for the nation.”

Before working with MCAT, Cene worked in the steel industry for 28 years. He estimated a loss of roughly 40,000 steel jobs from 1977 to 1985. He added that despite successes in other regions, the Mahoning Valley is still in “recovery mode.”

But because of the larger scale, Valley residents can’t escape the bad economic news.

“A lot of times in the past, [recessions] seem to have been more Valley-specific, just because of the industry,” Turner said. “Now it’s endemic; there’s nowhere to run because it’s international.”

Other industries also felt the crunch of the current recession.

Construction work eliminated 111,000 jobs, professional and business services cut 121,000 positions, retailers saw a loss of 45,000 jobs, and the leisure and hospitality industry cut 28,000 employees.

Michigan, another state that relies heavily on manufacturing, saw its unemployment rate go from 7.4 percent to 10.6 percent over the same span.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Avon, Ohio, weighed in on the staggering numbers and said he hopes help is on the way.

“Today’s job numbers are a result of nearly a decade of wrong-headed economic policies,” Brown said. “The good news is that President Obama and Congress are working to put our economy on a new course and get Americans back to work. Just this week, Congress passed critical Buy American language that I believe will be signed into law. Using U.S. taxpayer dollars to create U.S. jobs isn’t just common sense — it’s essential to reversing job loss.”

Jobs aren’t only being cut. People with steady jobs have seen a decline in hours or wages. According to the report, workers had an average work week of 33.3 hours, which matched the number from December. The figure is a record low.

Employers are using extreme tactics in order to balance their books due to lost revenue. They have cut hours, slashed payrolls and frozen wages to compensate for the lower demand.

Cene and Turner agreed something needs to be done quickly to help alleviate the stress of the economic downturn in the Valley.

“If there is a jolt to manufacturing, we could get things going faster than anticipated,” Turner said. “You need customers with cash in their hands, and right now, there’s no cash.”

Cene expanded on those sentiments, saying, “The long-term solution is job creation ... I’m hoping whatever stimulus package comes out works, and I hope it puts this country back to work again.”

jmoffett@vindy.com