Valley unemployment rate increases in February
Staff report
YOUNGSTOWN
The Mahoning Valley saw an increase in the number of unemployed people and a decrease in employment in February.
The combined jobless rate for Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties was 7.2 percent in February compared with 6.7 percent in February 2015, according to data released Tuesday by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
The number of employed dropped from 231,400 to 228,700. The number of unemployed went up from 16,600 in February 2015 to 17,800 last month.
The civilian labor force, or sum of the employed and unemployed, dropped by 1,000 year-over-year in the tri-county area.
Mahoning County’s unemployment rate was 7.1 percent, a 0.5 percent increase from the February 2015 rate of 6.6 percent.
The number of employed dropped by 900 in the county while the number of unemployed increased by 500. Meanwhile, the civilian labor force dropped by 400.
In Trumbull County, the jobless rate also increased by 0.5 percent from 7 percent to 7.5 percent. The number of unemployed increased by 400 while the number of employed dropped by 1,100, and the civilian labor force dropped by 600.
Columbiana County’s unemployment rate was slightly higher than Trumbull’s and Mahoning’s in February. The 7 percent jobless rate was up from the 6.4 percent reported in February 2015. The number of unemployed increased by 300, and the number of employed decreased by 600. The civilian labor force dropped by 300.
Ohio’s unemployment rate of 4.9 percent in February was unchanged from January as the number of unemployed workers and Ohio’s nonagricultural wage and salary employment both increased, the department reported Friday.
In the state, job losses in manufacturing and mining and logging outweighed construction-job gains. Employment gains were reported in sectors including trade, transportation and utilities. Losses were reported in areas including leisure and hospitality.
Ohio’s unemployment rate matched the U.S. rate of 4.9 percent. That also was unchanged from January.