Youngstown, Warren Again Tie for No. 2 Unemployment Rate

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — For the second month in a row, the Mahoning Valley’s two largest cities tied for Ohio’s second highest unemployment rate. 

In July, Youngstown and Warren both posted unemployment rates of 7.7%, only surpassed by Athens’ 8.6% rate for the month, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services reports. The two cities’ rates were up from the 7.3% rate each reported in June, behind only Athens’ 7.5% rate that month. 

Unemployment was down slightly from a year earlier in both cities. The unemployment rate in July 2018 was 7.8% for Youngstown and 7.9% for Warren. 

Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties all posted unemployment rates that were among the 20 highest among Ohio’s 88 counties.

Trumbull County reported unemployment last month of 6.5% – seventh highest in Ohio – up from 6.1% in June and up from 6.3% in July 2018. Mahoning County’s 6.1% rate was No. 13 in the state last month, up from 5.7% in June and from 5.9% in July 2018.

Columbiana County reported a 5.5% unemployment rate, No. 17 in the state. That was up from 5.1% a year earlier and from 4.8% in June. 

The Youngstown-Warren-Boardman metropolitan statistical area, which covers Mahoning and Trumbull counties in Ohio and Mercer County in Pennsylvania, reported a 6.1% unemployment rate in July, up from 5.9% a year earlier and up from 5.6% in June.

The Ohio Labor Market Review released Tuesday morning identified month-over-month losses from June in mining, logging and construction, manufacturing, and private sector services. Over the year, manufacturing lost 2,300 jobs. 

Unemployment in the Ohio-only portion of the MSA was 6.3% in July, compared with 6.1% a year earlier and 5.9% in June.     

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.