Local unemployment rate drops in May

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

The Mahoning Valley’s nonseasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped from 5.9 percent in May 2017 to 5 percent in May 2018, according to Ohio Department of Job and Family Services data released Tuesday.

Employment, however, did not increase.

According to the data, 228,200 people in the Mahoning Valley were employed in May 2017, compared with 227,500 last month.

The number of people in the labor force dropped by 3,000, from 242,000 to 239,000.

In Mahoning County, May’s unemployment rate was 5 percent, compared with 5.9 percent in May 2017. In Youngstown, the rate dropped from 7.7 percent in May 2017 to 6.1 percent last month.

In Trumbull County, last month’s unemployment rate was 5.2 percent, compared with 6.2 percent in May 2017.

In Columbiana County, May’s unemployment rate was 4.5 percent, compared with 5.3 percent at that time last year.

In Ohio, May’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.3 percent, down from 5.1 percent in May 2017. The state unemployment rate was the same in April and May.

The U.S. unemployment rate for May was 3.8 percent, down from 4.3 percent in May 2017 and 3.9 percent in April.