Things aren’t as rosy as portrayed

Things aren’t as rosy as portrayed

I take exception to Gov. John Kasich’s analysis of area unemployment as projected in his State of the State address delivered Feb. 8 in Steubenville. “The unemployment rate in Youngstown, “Kasich begins, “has gone from 11.5 to 8.3 percent in the last year. The Mahoning Valley’s alive again.”

Note first, that the figures touted represent the area or region, and that the unemployment rate in the political subdivision of Youngstown is not so rosy. That, however, is not my point of objection. The wider area drop in the rate may be explained by a variety of realities.

First, long-term unemployed who have stopped looking for work fall off of the count, an awkward fact that is often targeted by commentators. Once an unemployed person stops receiving benefits and stops reporting to an unemployment agency to look for work, that person slips out of the count. After that, factor in the reality that many able workers have settled for part-time employment because they cannot secure full-time work.

Still another disturbing reality is that more and more older workers are “retired” as opposed to being “laid off,” their jobs then assigned to attrition rather than being refilled.

Finally, people fall off the area unemployment list because they give up on the area to leave.

Gov. Kasich does the region a disservice when he boasts that the Valley is “alive again.” My day-to-day interaction with citizens suggests a great deal of unease with the job market. As a businessman and promoter, I appreciate the guidance of records in making prudent decisions. It is a sorry device on the part of the governor to dazzle his audience with such boasting in a highly promoted venue that by definition must show Ohio as growing and moving forward.

Jim Villani, Youngstown