WHEELING - Fueled by sharp declines in the number of steel and industrial jobs, the number of unemployed workers in the local area soared to 15,630 during the month of May, an increase of 7,260 unemployed workers from May 2008.
With the nationwide unemployment rate now hovering near double digits at 9.5 percent, jobless rates in Brooke and Hancock counties in West Virginia's Northern Panhandle are the highest in the area with each county recording 12.4 percent unemployment during May, the latest month for which figures are available.
The rising number of unemployed comes as the Upper Ohio Valley continues to experience population decline. According to the latest available estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Upper Ohio Valley has lost 21,822 residents since the 2000 Census count, with Wheeling losing 2,506 residents.
Article Photos
Photo by Casey Junkins
With Severstal Wheeling idling its steel mills like this one in Mingo Junction, some local leaders believe even more people will leave the area to seek employment.
The long-term idling of Severstal Wheeling steel mills in Steubenville, Mingo Junction, Martins Ferry and Yorkville also is adding to the problem, as several thousand steelworkers are without work.
While many local public officials are concerned about the population loss, they also believe the trend can be reversed - or at least stabilized - over the next few years.
In Hancock County, 1,010 more workers were unemployed in May than in May 2008, while Brooke County saw 780 more unemployed residents from the previous year.
"It is very frustrating that 12.4 percent of our people who want jobs cannot find them," Hancock County Commissioner Michael Swartzmiller said.
Swartzmiller and Hancock County Administrator Chuck Svokas said they are working to make use of available property along the Ohio River. They are most excited about the opportunities presented by the potential sale of much of the former Weirton Steel Corp. property, now owned by ArcelorMittal Weirton.
"There are about 1,700 acres of available property there. Of course, some work needs to be done before anything new could be done there, but the waterlines and things like that are already in place," Svokas said of the steel company site.
Construction is continuing on The Village at Colliers Way, a 41-acre, multi-purpose project across the road from Weirton Medical Center that developers believe could be home to 600 jobs and 400 homes upon completion.
Weirton City Manager Gary DuFour, whose city spans parts of Hancock and Brooke counties, said some of the population losses are due to the shifting job market. Weirton has lost 1,663 residents since the 2000 U.S. Census.
"This is really just a continuation of a trend that began in 1960 with changes in the metals industry," he said.
But DuFour believes the loss of population is not necessarily that bad for the city.
"Just because your population is going down does not mean you cannot have safe neighborhoods, nice schools and other good things. ... You do not need to have 150,000 people to have a nice city," he said, noting that many current residents who work in Pittsburgh choose to live in Weirton.
In Jefferson County, home to the inactive Steubenville and Mingo Junction Severstal mills, the unemployment rate reached 12.2 percent in May, with about 1,900 more jobless claims than in May 2008.
Ohio County's unemployment rate in May was 8.4 percent, with 910 additional jobless claims than in May of the previous year. As for the population decline, U.S. Census estimates show Wheeling has lost 2,506 residents since the year 2000.
Wheeling Mayor Andy McKenzie said city officials will continue to do "what we have been doing" to reverse the trend. That includes "lowering taxes, lowering fees, fostering growth, investing in the downtown, opening the Capitol (Theatre) and protecting property owners' rights," he said.
Belmont County featured a May unemployment rate of 8.3 percent, the lowest of 10 local counties, though about 1,000 more workers were unemployed than in May 2008.
In terms of population, estimates show Martins Ferry as losing 572 residents since the year 2000 to finish with about 6,654 current city dwellers.
Mayor Phil Wallace said he hopes the estimates for Martins Ferry are wrong.
"That is a lot lower than what I expected. I hope we end up with more than that when we do the 2010 census," he said.
As home to one of the idle Severstal mills, Martins Ferry needs the steel industry to recover, Wallace said.
"I think it will come back at some level but will probably never be as big as it was," he said of the local steel industry.
In St. Clairsville, Mayor Robert Vincenzo said he is not sure the estimates showing the city losing four residents since the year 2000 are accurate.
"I don't know where they (U.S. Census Bureau) get these statistics. ... We saw a new subdivision with 55 new homes open four years ago, and I have almost no empty houses in St. Clairsville," he said of the city estimated to have 5,053 residents.
"It is a standard formula that they use. ... They need to understand that one size does not fit all," he said.
In Marshall County, the unemployment rate for May was 9.3 percent, with 700 more people filing jobless claims than in May of the prior year.
In terms of population, the county's largest city, Moundsville, has lost an estimated 889 residents since the year 2000.
"It's the same old, same old," Marshall County Commissioner Donald Mason said when informed this year's estimates again state the population of his county's communities has declined. "Our young people are leaving."
Mason cited his own son as an example of someone who left the local area shortly after graduating from college. Though he interviewed with a company in Weirton, Mason's son ultimately decided to accept a position in the Carolinas with a firm that makes cell phone components.
But both Mason and Commissioner Jason "Jake" Padlow pointed out that while the population of the county's municipalities has fallen, the tax and industrial bases there have grown and infrastructure has expanded. They cited ongoing economic development in Marshall County, saying that must continue if the Ohio Valley is to reverse the trend of population loss.
As an example, Mason said Warren Distribution has gone far beyond its original expectations in Glen Dale; he said the firm initially planned to create about 35 jobs at that site, but so far it has created about 100 jobs, with employees working three shifts. The company has invested an estimated $100 million in the local area.
Mason and Padlow also noted that Consol Energy Inc. continues to invest in the county, with a fairly new coal preparation plant at McElroy Mine and a massive improvement project under way at Shoemaker Mine near Benwood. They also cited American Electric Power's investment in scrubbers at the Kammer-Mitchell Plant and the establishment of the CertainTeed wallboard plant nearby.
"We've kept a lot of people with these new projects," Mason added.
Padlow also theorized that the population decline is due to a general trend to have fewer children.
"Years ago, people had big families," Padlow said. "You can't afford to these days."
Padlow and Mason also noted that many people are building new homes - ones that cost $300,000 or $400,000 - just outside the cities and towns cited in the report.
City Editor Jennifer Compston-Strough contributed to this story.