Mahoning Valley unemployment rate in May remains same as April

Staff report

COLUMBUS

Unemployment in May decreased slightly in Trumbull County, remained stable in Mahoning County and increased slightly in Columbiana County, according to data released Tuesday by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

Valleywide, the rate remained the same as the 5.1 percent reported for April.

In Mahoning County, 5,100 people were unemployed last month from a total civilian labor force of 102,400 for a jobless rate of 4.9 percent, the same as in April.

In Trumbull County, 4,500 people were unemployed in May from a total workforce of 86,700 for a jobless rate of 5.2 percent, down from 5.3 percent in April.

In Columbiana County, 1,900 people were unemployed in May from a total workforce of 47,200 for a jobless rate of 4.0 percent, up from 3.8 percent in April.

Despite the decline, Trumbull County recorded the fourth-highest unemployment rate among the 88 counties in the state last month. Mahoning County ranked eighth highest and Columbiana County, 25th highest, according to the ODJFS report.

The Valley’s two largest urban centers continued to report the highest unemployment rates in the region in May.

The jobless rate in Youngstown increased from 5.9 percent in April to 6.2 percent in May, but the rate in Warren declined from 6.0 percent in April to 5.9 percent in May, according to the ODJFS data.

Unemployment in the region remains substantially above state and national rates. The jobless rate in Ohio in May was 4.1 percent; the unemployment rate for the nation last month was 3.6 percent.

George Zeller, an economist based in Cleveland, said the numbers show Ohio is still lagging behind the national average in both employment and jobs.

“This is the 29th month in a row where Ohio’s unemployment rates have been higher than the national average, which effects the Valley and every other part of the state,” he said.

“We now have 81 months in a row where Ohio’s jobs are growing more slowly than the national average, and that isn’t just contained to the Valley.”