Valley jobless rate rises to 10%

By Karl Henkel | July 27, 2011 at 12:10a.m.

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YOUNGSTOWN

A larger work force and stagnant job growth in June led to an increased unemployment rate in the Mahoning Valley.

The region’s unemployment rate now stands at 10 percent, 1.4 percent lower than in June 2010, according to figures released Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

It also was 0.6 percent higher than in May; the unemployment rate had fallen for four consecutive months to begin the year.

Cleveland-based economist George Zeller said the unemployment rate normally swells in June because more people are looking for work.

“School lets out, so all of a sudden there’s a lot of people looking for summer jobs,” he said. “And that’s not just students, but even teachers. I wouldn’t get too alarmed about how much it went up.”

The civilian work force in June was 245,900, about 700 more than in May (245,200), but there were 2,000 more who were considered unemployed.

Bert Cene, executive director at the Mahoning and Columbiana Training Association, agreed with Zeller and said job movement remained steady in June at the One-Stop locations.

“Our traffic patterns have been relatively the same, and our job orders from our employers have been relatively steady,” he said. “It’s not panic time.”

All three counties saw similar unemployment increases.

Columbiana jumped nearly a full percentage point, from 9.8 in May to 10.7 in June. Mahoning County rose from 9.3 percent to 10 percent and Trumbull from 9.2 to 9.8.

All three rates are significantly lower than in June 2010 and mirrored state and national trends.

The United States unemployment rate rose in June to 9.2 percent and Ohio’s from 8.6 to 8.8.

The U.S. Department of Labor defines the civilian labor force as people 16 and older who are working or looking for work. It excludes members of the military, students and volunteer workers, as well as those who are in institutions, retired or unable to work.

Not counted in the statistics are those unemployed who have given up looking for work.

One who hasn’t given up is Savaughn Jones of Youngstown, who celebrated his 31st birthday Tuesday by printing r sum s and filling out applications at the Mahoning County One-Stop, 149 Boardman-Canfield Road.

Jones said he’s been unemployed since 2008 and regularly applies to a handful of potential employers every day.

He said job prospects haven’t been positive, but he refuses to stop looking.

“It’s not about being negative or positive,” he said. “You’ve got to keep going.

“There’s nothing else to do.”

Jones’ unemployment may be contributing to his endless search for a job. Countless instances have popped up nationwide of companies adding tag lines to job postings that read, “unemployed candidates will not be considered” or “must be currently employed.”

Cene said that hasn’t been the case in this area yet, but the trend is definitely growing.

“We haven’t seen that in this area,” he said. “But I’ve heard rumblings about it elsewhere in the state.”