WARREN — Trumbull and Mahoning counties knocked down their jobless rates last month from April, and May’s numbers are about three times better than last year during the thick of the viral outbreak.

The latest unemployment numbers from the state have Trumbull County’s jobless rate at 6.1 percent and Mahoning County’s at 6.2 percent last month — decreases of 0.6 percent for both compared with April.

One year ago in May, when the pandemic was causing business owners to lay off employees or even close, Trumbull County posted an unemployment rate of 18 percent and Mahoning County, 17.3 percent.

In Warren, the rate inched up 0.2 percent to 8.1 percent in May from April. In Youngstown, the rate was nearly stagnant at 8.6 percent. The city registered 8.7 percent in April.

Year-over-year, however, the cities followed the same trend as the counties. Warren’s rate in May 2020 was 21.6 percent and Youngstown’s was 20.4 percent.

Across Ohio, Erie County west of Cleveland along Lake Erie posted the highest unemployment rate, 7.7 percent. The lowest rate among the state’s 88 counties was 2.6 percent in Holmes County in central Ohio west of New Philadelphia.

business@tribtoday.com