The latest unemployment report from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services is not kind to the Mahoning Valley.

In fact, Trumbull County holds the dubious distinction of ranking No. 1 in highest unemployment in the state among all 88 counties. Mahoning County trails close on its tails, ranking No. 3.

But before anyone flips out, a bit of perspective will prove that while there may be cause for concern, there is definitely no cause for alarm. We’re a far cry from the COVID-19-induced recession that shot local jobless rates soaring above 20% six years ago this spring and summer.

First, because of the Buckeye State’s generally robust economy, the peak unemployment rate in Ohio stood at a paltry 4.1% in Trumbull County this May, data from which is the latest available. Considering that most economists regard a jobless rate between 4% and 5% as full employment, even the Valley’s worst-of-the-worst rankings this one month does not translate into a fragile and wobbly economy.

Second, despite the unpleasant standings, employment levels in the Valley actually continue to increase. Need proof? JFS data show Trumbull County’s jobless rate dropped from 4.6% in April to 4.1% in May. It’s down nearly two full percentage points from its rate of 5.7% in May 2025.

Similarly, Mahoning County’s 3.8% unemployment rate this May shrunk from 4.4% this April and from 5.1% in May 2025.

Third, temporary and hopefully fleeting setbacks may very well account for the Valley’s top spots on the unemployment chart. The largest of those, of course, has been the continuing layoff of some 1,300 workers from the Ultium Cells factory in Lordstown. Those mass layoffs represented the largest set of job losses from one company in the Mahoning Valley in many years. We remain hopeful, however, that most of the approximately 900 temporary layoffs will end as planned next month.

Toward that end, it’s encouraging news for those workers at the EV battery plant that sales of EVs and hybrid vehicles shot up about 15% in this country during the second quarter of 2026, perhaps due to the hyperinflation at gas pumps triggered by the war in Iran.

In addition, other setbacks continue to jolt the local economy. Prime among them have been the lingering loss of hundreds of jobs from shuttered hospitals in Warren and Howland, from the approaching shutdown of the iconic Schwebel’s Bakery in Youngstown and from the permanent closing of many once-thriving businesses in Boardman and other commercial corridors.

Clearly, in the wake of those bumps in the road, local governments, economic development agencies and workforce training centers throughout the region must continue to double down to do all possible to restore lost jobs and maximize employment opportunities in the Valley.

To their credit, however, they’ve been doing just that — and quite well, thank you.

To be sure, positive economic development signs sprout throughout the Valley this summer. First and foremost among them is the $800 million

Investment by Kimberly-Clark Corp. in a soon-to-be-completed production complex on 56 acres of industrial land in Warren, Warren Township and Howland.

Other exciting economic and job-growth elixirs in our region include Foxconn’s developing AI center, Vallourec’s Valley expansion, Youngstown Business Incubator’s diversification, Mercy Health’s $50 million emergency care center in Champion under construction, Youngstown Innovation Hub for Aerospace and Defense’s launching and others that will supply our regions with thousands of new jobs in the relatively short term that will more than replace those lost in the recent past.

Obviously, momentum in the Valley lies on the side of growth and expansion, not job loss and contraction. That’s why we’re optimistic that when JFS issues its report on county unemployment levels for June 2026 next week, Mahoning and Trumbull counties will no longer appear at the top of the list. But even if they do in the short term, there certainly is no good reason for despair for the long term.