Big Drops Locally in February Jobless Rates

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Unemployment rates in the Mahoning Valley dropped dramatically in February, with jobless rates for counties, major cities and the metropolitan area dropping in the two-percentage-point range, according to data from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

Trumbull County reported the highest unemployment rate of the three local counties last month at 6.3%. That was the 20th highest among Ohio’s 88 counties but down from January’s 8.4% as well as February 2017’s 8.5% unemployment rate.

Mahoning County’s 6.1% unemployment rate last month was down from the month before as well as a year earlier, when the rate was 8.0% for both months. Columbiana County’s rate was 5.7% in February, down from 6.4% the month prior and 7.3% in February 2017.

The Mahoning Valley’s two largest cities both saw substantial declines in the unemployment rate. Warren’s February unemployment rate was 7.1%, down from 9.2% the month before and 9.5% in February 2017. Youngstown’s unemployment rate was 6.9% last month, down from 8.9% in January and 9.6% in February 2017.

The February rate for the Youngstown-Warren metropolitan statistical area – which encompasses both Mahoning and Trumbull counties as well as Mercer County, Pa. – also reflected the drops. The metro area’s rate was 6.1% in February, down from the 7.8% rate reported both the month before and in February 2017.

The Ohio-only portion of the MSA reported a 6.2% unemployment rate, down from the 8.2% recorded for both the prior month and a year earlier.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.