Staff report

Initial unemployment claims in Ohio jumped approximately 3,000 last week, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services reported Thursday.

From Jan. 4-10, Ohioans filed 11,492 initial claims, which was 3,028 more than the previous week. A total of 67,146 continued unemployment claims were logged in the same period. That was 3,850 more than the prior period.

Total claims filed from last week were 78,638.

Since August, unemployment has fallen in the Mahoning Valley.

Mahoning County experienced a 4.5% rate in November, compared to 4.7% in September and 5.7% the month prior.

Youngstown’s unemployment figure in November was 5.7% (6%, September; 7.5%, August). Of the city’s 22,100 workers,1,300 were unemployed in September. That represented a drop of 400 from August.

However, Youngstown’s labor force was reduced by 400 during the same period, the state reported.

Trumbull County’s rate slipped from 5.1% to 4.8% in November.

The city of Warren saw unemployment drop from 6.7% in September to 6.1% in November. The city’s labor force numbered 13,800 compared to 14,000 in August. The number of unemployed in August was 1,200 while it was 800 in November.

Ohio’s unemployment rate in November was 4.5%. The national unemployment rate in November was 4.6%. Ohio’s labor force participation rate in November was 62.3%. The national labor force participation rate in November was 62.5%.

The figures were not seasonally adjusted. Numbers for October were not reported.