Youngstown and Warren Lead Ohio Unemployment

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Area unemployment rates in December were up across the board with the two largest cities in the Mahoning Valley reporting the highest unemployment rates in the state.

Data from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services released this week show Youngstown had the highest unemployment rate in the state in December at 7.9%, and Warren was second highest at 7.5%, up from 7% and 6.7% in November, respectively. Those percentages are well above the Ohio rate of 4.6% in December.

Both cities reported 7% unemployment in December 2017 and annual averages of 7.3% for 2018. Ohio had a seasonally adjusted average of 4.5% for the year.

Unemployment in Mahoning County ranked 15th highest in the state at 6.3% in December, up from 5.5% in November and 5.9% year-over-year.

Trumbull County ranked 12th highest in state with a 6.6% unemployment rate, up from 5.8% in November and 6.1% in December 2017.

Columbiana County posted a 5.4% unemployment rate in December, up from 4.6% the month before and from 5.2% in December 2017.

The December unemployment rate for the Youngstown-Warren metropolitan statistical area, which includes Mahoning and Trumbull counties in Ohio and Mercer County in Pennsylvania, was 6%, up from 5.3% the month before, and up from 5.8% in December 2017. The average unemployment rate for the year in the district was 5.8%.

Excluding Mercer County, the unemployment rate was 6.4% for the district, up from 5.7% in November and 6% in December 2017. For the year, the district averaged 6.1% unemployment.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.