RG Steel closing boosts area’s unemployment rate

RG Steel closing boosts area’s unemployment rate

YOUNGSTOWN

The RG Steel closing appeared to have a sizable impact on the area’s unemployment rate, with it increasing for the second straight month.

There were more than 1,200 workers laid off at various times in June, which area economists believed had some role in June’s unemployment. They thought the brunt of the impact on jobless numbers would not appear until July.

The largest increase was within Trumbull County where 1,000 more people were classified as unemployed raising the rate from 8.2 percent to 9.1 percent from June to July, according to figures from Ohio Labor Market Information.

The unemployment rate in Mahoning County increased from 7.9 percent to 8.3 percent with 500 more people unemployed. Despite the increases Mahoning and Trumbull counties unemployment is significantly lower than it was a year ago when it was 10.1 percent in each county.

Columbiana County’s unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.3 percent with 100 more people unemployed offset by 200 more people with jobs.