Valley jobless rates for April hold steady

STAFF REPORT

Unemployment rates in the Mahoning Valley held steady in April, remaining double what they were a year ago.

The state released these unemployment rates for April on Tuesday: Mahoning County, 12.6 percent, unchanged from March; Youngstown, 13.9 percent, unchanged from March; Trumbull County, 14.3 percent, up from 14.2 percent in March; Columbiana County, 13 percent, up from 12.9 percent in March.

A year ago, the unemployment rates in all three counties were just above 6 percent.

The combined rate for all three counties was 13.3 percent last month, unchanged from March.

“It’s pretty bleak,” said Bill Turner, administrator of the Trumbull County One-Stop.

It was good to see that April’s numbers didn’t get worse, but it’s clear that severe cutbacks in the automotive industry and other types of manufacturing have not abated, he said.