Valley’s March unemployment rate down

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

The Mahoning Valley’s nonseasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped three percentage points in March 2018 from March 2017.

The combined unemployment rate for Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties was 5.7 percent last month, compared with 8.7 percent in March 2017.

While the number of unemployed people dropped by 7,900, employment did not increase.

The number of people in the labor force decreased by 9,000, according to figures released Tuesday by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

In Mahoning County, March’s unemployment rate was 5.7 percent. In March 2017, it was 8.9 percent.

Trumbull County’s unemployment rate was 6 percent last month, compared with 9.4 percent in March 2017.

In Columbiana County, the unemployment rate in March 2018 was 5.2 percent, compared with 6.9 percent in March of last year.

Ohio’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.4 percent in March, down from 4.5 percent in February.

The U.S. unemployment rate for March was 4.1 percent, unchanged from February and down from 4.5 percent in March 2017.