Valley unemployment drops, but so does workforce

YOUNGSTOWN

Mahoning Valley data released Tuesday show a 2.3 percent decrease in unemployment from December 2013 to December 2014.

But it also shows a decrease in the civilian labor force of 6,000, which includes retired workers, discouraged workers and others who left the labor force for various reasons.

“The good news is unemployment is down,” said George Zeller, a Cleveland-based economist.

But Zeller said the drop in the labor force is the “principal reason” why the Valley’s nonseasonally adjusted

unemployment rate dropped from 7.4 percent in December 2013 to 5.1 percent in

December 2014.

In November 2014, the unemployment rate was

4.9 percent for the Mahoning Valley (Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties).

“That is not good news at all,” Zeller said. “Why should a decline in the labor force be considered a good thing?”

The Valley’s civilian labor force dropped from 260,000 in December 2013 to 254,000 in December 2014. The number of unemployed dropped from 19,300 to 13,100.

Employment increased from 240,300 to 240,900.

Read more about the Valley's job situation in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.