Wednesday, April 22, 2015
YOUNGSTOWN
The Mahoning Valley unemployment rate dropped 1 percent between March 2014 and March 2015.
The Valley’s nonseasonally adjusted jobless rate was 6.7 percent in March 2015, compared with 7.7 percent in March 2014, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services data released Tuesday. The number of unemployed decreased from 19,300 in March 2014 to 16,800 in March 2015. Employment went up from 231,000 in March 2014 to 232,900 in March 2015. The civilian labor force stayed the same.
“The unemployment estimate is down March 2014 to March 2015 in all three Mahoning Valley counties. This is similar to what we have seen during several recent months,” said George Zeller, a Cleveland-based economist.
Mahoning County’s jobless rate was 6.6 percent last month, down from 7.6 percent. Trumbull County’s was 7 percent, down from 8.1 percent. And Columbiana County’s was 6.3 percent, down from 7.4 percent.
The ODFJS reported Friday that Ohio gained 1,500 jobs, with the unemployment rate at 5.1 percent in March 2015, unchanged from February but down from 6 percent in March 2014.
The state figures, however, cannot be compared to local unemployment because the Valley’s unemployment rate is not seasonally adjusted.
“We are recovering from the Great Recession, but the recovery continues to be too slow,” Zeller said.