Valley jobless rate drops 2% from 2011

March 10, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

There is some good news for workers in the Youngstown-Warren area, at least for now.

According to Ohio Labor Market Information, unemployment rates have decreased 2 percent from last year. The data show the unemployment rate for the combined areas of Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana counties was 9.5 percent, down from 11.5 percent in 2011.

“Growth is stronger right now in Youngstown than in the rest of the state,” said George Zeller, a Cleveland-based economist.

Zeller said Youngstown-Warren was the only Ohio region where the 545 new claims for unemployment last week were lower than the 656 that Youngstown-Warren had during the first week of March 1999.

All the other Ohio urban regions had higher current levels than they had back in 1999, the last year when Ohio had unambiguous job growth for an entire year.

Zeller attributed job growth in the region to Youngstown’s new manufacturing jobs.

Although the unemployment rate increased from December, comparing the two months would be irrelevant, Zeller said.

Rates from Ohio Labor Market Information are not seasonally adjusted, and mass layoffs after the Christmas season may have led to the higher rate.

Zeller said although the unemployment rate’s decline is good news, it has been slow.

“The state has actually stopped losing jobs, for a change,” he said. “But the growth is too slow. It’s not enough to make up for the loss of [jobs].”