43
Valley unemployment down in May at 5.6 percent
YOUNGSTOWN
The drop in the Mahoning Valley’s unemployment is consistent with the steady recovery economists are seeing.
Valley unemployment decreased by 0.7 percent in May compared with last year, according to data released Tuesday by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
“The May 2014 to May 2015 improvement in all three counties in the Mahoning Valley shows us that we are, in fact, recovering,” Cleveland-based Economist George Zeller said.
Mahoning, Columbiana and Trumbull counties had a combined seasonally unadjusted jobless rate of 5.6 percent this May. Last May, the rate was at 6.3 percent.
Last month, 14,300 people were unemployed in the Valley, which is a decrease of 1,400 from May 2014.
For the employed, there was an increase of 3,900 in the Valley last month compared with last May. In April, the Valley’s unemployment rate was 5.7 percent.
The civilian labor force increased by 2,000 this May from last year. Mekael Teshome, a PNC Bank economist, said he is always encouraged to see an increase in the labor force.
“The numbers are consistent with what we’re seeing,” he said.
In Mahoning County, the unemployment rate last month was down 0.5 percent from last year with a rate of 5.6 percent. There were 6,100 unemployed and 102,800 employed in the county last month.
In Trumbull County, the unemployment rate last month was 5.9 percent compared with 6.6 percent last May. A total of 5,500 were unemployed, and 88,000 were employed.
Columbiana County also saw a decrease in unemployment from last year with a rate of 5.2 percent compared with 6 percent in May 2014. A total of 2,600 were unemployed, and 47,900 were employed.
Teshome said the consumer and manufacturing segments were the main drivers of the economic recovery, both in the Valley and across the nation, in the first half of this year, which is set to look better than 2014.
But Ohio lost 4,300 construction jobs in May compared with last year.
“That’s a little worrisome,” Teshome said.
Zeller said Ohio’s job growth rate was 1.18 percent last month compared with the nation’s at 2.24 percent.
“The rate of recovery remains too slow in Ohio, and that rate slowed down once again in May 2015, very unfortunately,” he said.
Ohio’s unemployment rate was 5.2 percent last month, which did not change from April.
The U.S. unemployment rate for May was 5.5 percent, up from 5.4 percent in April but down from 6.3 percent in May 2014.