WASHINGTON -- The Youngstown, Ohio, metropolitan area has the highest unemployment rate in the nation, 20.9 percent, according to new government statistics, but the city's problem is about 4 percent worse.
The rate for Youngstown itself is about 25 percent, said Walt Swierz, administrative assistant to the mayor, as word of the data reached the industrial area.
'Things look bleak now, but we're optmistic,' Swierz said.
He pointed to the fact that Hunt Steel Corp. has taken over part of the old Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. plant that began closing its doors in September 1977.
He said Hunt Steel plans to begin producing carbon steel for oil wells in early 1983 and within two years should employ about 1,500 people.
Another firm has scheduled a plant adjacent to the Youngstown Airport to construct commuter airplanes and yet another is working on financing for a plant to build flyships.
In the meantime, Youngstown has lost 15,000 workers in its steel mills during the past five years.
The Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday the Youngstown-Warren area increased in joblessness from 18.2 percent in July to 20.9 percent for August. In August 1981, it had an 11.7 percent unemployment rate.
Three other areas in the industrial Midwest were close behind Youngstown in the August data -- Decatur, Ill., at 19.9 percent; Duluth-Superior, Minn., at 19.5 percent, and Janesville-Beloit, Wis., at 19.3 percent.
Michigan continued its position as the state with highest joblessness, despite declining from 14.7 percent in July to 14.5 percent in August. Alabama was close behind at 14.2 percent, also down from its July rate.
The data reflected unadjusted figures that do not take into account seasonal factors and compared to a nationwide unadjusted jobless rate for August of 9.6 percent. In September, the national unadjusted rate was 9.7 percent, with the seasonally adjusted figure at a post-Depression high of 10.1 percent.
Stamford, Conn., retained the honor of having the lowest jobless rate among cities at 3.5 percent. South Dakota, at 4.5 percent, and North Dakota, at 4.7 percent, had the lowest rates among states.
Other metropolitan areas with the highest 10 unemployment rates, beside Youngstown and the three industrial Midwest areas, were Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla., and Rockford, Ill., both at 18.5 percent; Flint, Mich., 17.5 percent; Muskegon-Norton Shores-Muskegon Heights, Mich., 17.4 percent; Kankakee, Ill., 16.3 percent, and Battle Creek and Jackson, Mich., both at 15.5 percent.
Following Stamford on the low side were: Sioux Falls, S.D., 3.7 percent; Gainesville, Fla., 4 percent; Raleigh-Durham, N.C., 4.4 percent; Oklahoma City, 4.5 percent; Fargo-Moorhead, N.D., 4.8 percent; Lawton, Okla., 4.7 percent; Lincoln, Neb., and Tallahassee, Fla., both 5 percent, and Enid, Okla., 5.3 percent.
