WARREN — September’s jobless rates in Trumbull and Mahoning counties improved, albeit ever so slightly, yet the two remain above 10 percent, an unenviable mark that includes just three other counties in Ohio.

The latest numbers from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services has Trumbull County’s 10.3 percent unemployment rate tied with nearby Jefferson County for third worst and Mahoning County’s 10.1 percent rate fifth highest among the 88 counties in the state.

Other counties that crested 10 percent are Monroe County in southeast Ohio along the Ohio River, 10.5 percent, and Cuyahoga County in northeast Ohio on Lake Erie, 11.2 percent.

Columbiana County, sandwiched between Mahoning and Jefferson counties, is No. 10 at 8.9 percent.

The rates in the Mahoning Valley fell from August, when Trumbull and Mahoning counties recorded 11.3 percent and Columbiana County, 10 percent.

Similarly, the jobless rates for Warren and Youngstown — the most populous cities in the two-county region — fell from August, but remain among the worst in the state.

Warren recorded a rate of 14 percent and Youngstown, 14.4 percent, decreases of 1.2 percent and 1.5 percent respectively. Yet Warren is No. 6 and Youngstown is No. 5 for the highest rates among Ohio cities, according to the state’s numbers.

Cities with higher rates were Euclid, 14.8 percent; Garfield Heights, 15 percent; Cleveland, 15.1 percent; and Maple Heights, 16.3 percent.

Ohio JFS released the county and municipal numbers Tuesday. Today, the state and U.S. Department of Labor will release its weekly report of initial jobless benefit applications.

Last week the state reported for the week ending Oct. 10 that more than 20,000 Ohioans sought first-time unemployment help; it was the first time claims rose above 20,000 in nearly two months and marked the fourth consecutive week initial claims increased.

Also signaling the viral pandemic, now in its seventh month, continues to hurt employers, initial claims across the U.S. last week over the same period rose 6 percent to 898,000. It was the largest increase in claims in two months.

Although applications have slowed since the height of layoffs amid the outbreak, they remain around 800,000 per week, a historically high number given at the start of 2020, initial claims were around 200,000 per week.

Gus Faucher, chief economist with PNC Bank in Pittsburgh, said the U.S. economy added 661,000 jobs in September, but the pace of job growth has slowed since hitting almost 5 million in June. He estimates it could up to four years for employment to return to its pre-pandemic level.

rselak@tribtoday.com