Valley’s June unemployment rate up slightly

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

The Mahoning Valley’s June non-seasonally adjusted jobless rate went up 0.2 percent year over year to 6.2 percent.

The number of unemployed in the Valley went up from 14,900 reported in June 2015 to 15,400 in June 2016, according to data released by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services on Tuesday.

The number of employed did show an increase of 300. The civilian labor force, which is the sum of the unemployed and employed, also increased year over year from 249,000 reported in June 2015 to 250,000 reported in June 2016. A civilian labor force increase means workers have rejoined the labor force.

In Mahoning County alone, the June 2016 unemployment rate went unchanged from June 2015 at 5.9 percent.

The number of unemployed also went unchanged at 6,400 while the number of employed increased by 400. The civilian labor force also increased by 400.

The Trumbull County June unemployment rate also stayed the same at 6.3 percent. The number of unemployed increased by 100 while the number of employed increased 300 year over year.

The civilian labor force also showed an increase of 300.

In Columbiana County, the unemployment rate jumped from 5.7 percent reported in June 2015 to 6.3 percent last month.

The number of unemployed in the county went up from 2,800 to 3,200 while the number of employed dropped from 47,100 in June 2015 down to 46,900 in June 2016. The civilian labor force increased by 100.

Ohio’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5 percent in June 2016, down from 5.1 percent in May, ODJFS reported Friday.

Ohio’s nonagricultural wage and salary employment increased 12,400 over the month, from a revised 5,484,600 in May to 5,497,000 in June 2016.

The number of workers unemployed in Ohio in June was 291,000, down 9,000 from 300,000 in May. The number of unemployed has increased by 17,000 in the past 12 months from 274,000.

The state’s goods-producing industries gained 4,000 jobs. Federal, state and local governments added 9,600 jobs.

The national unemployment rate rose to 4.9 percent in June 2016, up 0.2 percent from the previous month, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

About 287,000 jobs were created in June.