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Valley jobless rate falls for 4th-straight month
By Karl Henkel
YOUNGSTOWN
The Mahoning Valley had 3,600 more employed residents in May compared with one year ago and saw its unemployment rate fall for the fourth-straight month.
May’s unemployment rate of 9.4 percent is 1.9 percentage points lower than the same time last year, representing job growth that has outpaced the national average.
The rate was slightly lower than April’s 9.5 percent rate.
The area’s rate still is higher than the national average (9.1 percent) and Ohio’s (8.6 percent), both of which decreased since last May. Ohio’s rate dropped from 10.2 percent, and the national average softened from 9.6 percent.
Mahoning and Trumbull counties’ unemployment rates remained at 9.4 percent and 9.3 percent, respectively, and Columbiana County (9.8 percent, down from 10 percent) saw a slight decrease.
Unemployment in Youngstown was 10.9 percent, down from 12.7 percent in May 2010. Warren was at 9.9 percent, down from 11.8 last year.
Benjamin Turner, an administrator for Trumbull County One-Stop, said the economic state in the region looks much better than it did a year ago, but it’s still too soon to declare victories.
“There’s still cautious optimism, but I think it’s getting much better,” he said. “There’s still people out there that need work.”
Turner pointed not just to the growth of the manufacturing sector but the diversification of all industries as strong indicators of economic improvement.
“It’s been around the board,” he said of the increases. “In our case, the diversification is really good.”
Mahoning and Columbiana County One-Stop officials echoed Turner’s comments and recently reported slowly but steady increasing interest from employers throughout the Valley.
The civilian work force is 2,000 fewer than last May, but the number of employed rose by 3,600 compared with a year ago. There were 25,500 unemployed in May, 5,200 fewer than in May 2010.
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.