Valley jobless rate falls to 9.5%

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LOWEST SINCE DEC. 2008

By Karl Henkel

khenkel@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

It’s been quite some time since the Mahoning Valley’s unemployment rate has dipped below 10 percent.

Twenty-eight months to be exact.

Combined unemployment figures for Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties fell to 9.5 percent in April, the lowest total since December 2008. The unemployment rate last month was 10.2 percent.

The April unemployment rate for Columbiana County was 10 percent; Mahoning and Trumbull counties were 9.4 percent.

The area’s rate is still higher than the national average (9 percent) and Ohio’s (8.6 percent).

The Valley’s civilian work force is 4,000 fewer than last April, but the number of employed rose by 2,700. There were 25,500 unemployed in April, 6,900 fewer than in April 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.

George Zeller, a Cleveland-based economic analyst, said the Youngstown area continues to be the best Ohio region in terms of job growth.

“I’ve never before said that Youngstown is the best-growing area in the state,” he said. “The growth [overall] is so slow, except in Youngstown, where it’s been robust.”

Zeller chalked up the Valley’s improved numbers to manufacturing.

“The idea that we can ship our manufacturing jobs overseas is being proven wrong by Youngstown,” he said.

Melissa Lias, account executive at Staff Right Services, a staffing agency with locations in all three counties, echoed Zeller’s assessment and said Staff Right has seen an uptick in manufacturing jobs, such as welders, machinists and general laborers.

She said increases also have been seen in professional-services jobs.

Lias also said there have been more requests by employers looking to hire than by workers looking for jobs, and oftentimes the company will call a person previously interested in work, only to find out they already have found a job.

“A lot of people who are good, skilled workers are finding work,” she said.