Valley's unemployment rate up, but not from economics, economist says

YOUNGSTOWN

The December jobless rate for the Mahoning Valley jumped to 7.3 percent from 5.6 reported in December 2014.

The area has been hit with plant closure after plant closure lately, but that doesn’t mean the region’s economy is going downhill, economists say.

“The overall story here is one of steady improvement,” said Mekael Teshome, PNC Bank economist. The region’s economy “is soft, but resilient.”

The Valley’s jobless figures released Tuesday by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services show an increase in the civilian labor force from 249,000 to 253,000. This increase, Teshome believes, is why the unemployment rate increased.

“It is for a statistical reason it went up – not an economical reason,” Teshome explained.

Read more about the figures in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.