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Valley jobless rate dips to lowest since 2008
By GRACE WYLER
youngstown
Unemployment in the Mahoning Valley dropped to its lowest point since 2008 last month, the state reported Tuesday.
The combined unemployment rate for Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties fell to 12.5 percent in April, down from 14.5 percent in March. The unemployment rate was 12.7 percent in April 2009.
The unemployment rate in the area has not fallen below 12.6 percent since joblessness rose in January 2009.
“This is a good sign; this is a major jump in a positive direction,” said Bert Cene, director of the Mahoning and Columbiana Training Association, which oversees work-force investment. “Things have hopefully bottomed out.”
The drop in joblessness last month partly can be attributed to worker recalls at the General Motors plant in Lordstown and Severstal’s steel mill in Warren, Cene said.
Smaller companies in the area also have started hiring employees, Cene said.
“For the longest time, we were struggling to see why we were losing ground,” Cene said. “But now it looks like we have turned a corner.”
In Mahoning County, the joblessness rate was 12.1 percent in April, down more than 2 percentage points from 14.4 percent in March. It was 11.9 percent in April 2009.
In Trumbull County, unemployment was at 12.7 percent in April, down from 14.6 percent in March. The rate was 13.5 percent in April 2009.
Columbiana County’s unemployment rate was 13.1 percent last month, down from 14.3 percent the month prior. The county’s rate was 12.6 percent in April 2009.
The local One-Stops have seen a rise in job orders, and April’s unemployment numbers appear to reflect this increased demand, said Gloria Mathews, communications director for One-Stop employment agencies in Mahoning and Columbiana counties.
“April’s numbers are definitely looking better,” Mathews said. “Not as good as we’d like to see, but it’s starting.”
In Youngstown, the unemployment rate dropped to 13.6 percent after rising to 15 percent in March. The city had 13.3 percent unemployment in April 2009.
Warren’s joblessness rate fell to 13.3 percent in April, down from 14.4 percent the previous month. The rate was 14.1 percent in April 2009.
Decreases in local unemployment rates followed a statewide trend — 87 of Ohio’s 88 counties saw joblessness rates drop in April.
But Mahoning Valley unemployment remained higher than the state’s April average of 10.7 percent.
Clinton County recorded the state’s highest unemployment rate at 17.7 percent. Highland, Pike, Noble, Morgan and Meigs counties all recorded unemployment rates above 15 percent.
Delaware and Geauga counties had the lowest unemployment rates in the state, both at 7.9 percent.