Valley’s unemployment rate up 0.8 percent to 8 percent

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

The Mahoning Valley’s nonseasonally adjusted jobless rate increased 0.8 percent year over year to 8 percent in February.

Across the three counties – Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana – that make up the Mahoning Valley, the number of unemployed increased 1,700 to 19,400 and the number of employed decreased by 2,900 to 224,000, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

The civilian labor force, which is the sum of the employed and the unemployed, decreased by 2,000 to 243,000.

In Mahoning County, the unemployment rate increased 0.9 percent year over year to 7.9 percent. The number of unemployed in the county increased by 1,000 to 8,400 while the number of employed dropped by 1,100. The civilian labor force dropped by 200 to 105,500.

In Trumbull County, the unemployment rate increased 1 percent to 8.4 percent in February. The number of unemployed increased 800 and the number of employed dropped by 1,000 to 82,700. The civilian labor force in the county dropped by 200 by 90,200.

In Columbiana County, the unemployment rate decreased by 0.3 percent to 7.3 percent. The number of unemployed dropped by 200 to 3,500 and the number of employed also dropped by 800 to 44,100. The civilian labor force in the county dropped by 1,000 to 47,600.

Ohio’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.1 percent in February, up from 5 percent in January, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services said Friday.

Ohio’s nonagricultural wage and salary employment increased 15,200 over the month, from a revised 5,506,800 in January to 5,522,000 in February.

The number of workers unemployed in Ohio in February was 294,000, up 7,000 from 287,000 in January. The number of unemployed has increased by 9,000 in the past 12 months from 285,000. The February unemployment rate for Ohio was up from 5 percent in February 2016.

The U.S. unemployment rate for February was 4.7 percent, 0.1 percentage points lower than in January, and 0.2 percentage points lower than in February 2016.