Belmont County's economy seems to be picking up, according to numbers calculated by officials at Connections One-Stop Employment and Training Center in Martins Ferry.

Director Mike Schlanz presented a report to the commissioners Wednesday.

Schlanz noted a major increase in customers over the past three years, attributing a county-wide drop in unemployment.

"There's been a dramatic drop in unemployment in Belmont County as well as the number of unemployment claims," Schlanz said.

In fact, there are thousands of posted jobs across the county; there are 181 available jobs in St. Clairsville and 1,279 jobs within a 20-mile radius of the city. There are 29 jobs in Martins Ferry and over 1,424 available jobs within a 20-mile radius.

Resume activity is one of the agency's largest services, and Schlanz said activity has picked up there as well.

"We do up a resume for them, give them seven to eight copies, then we then we put it on a flash drive for them," Schlanz said.

A dramatic increase in oil and gas activity is also part of the good news for Connections. Schlanz gave mention to a few grants, like the Severstal grant, which provided funding to enroll 23 laid-off workers into training programs. The Disaster (flood grant) gave funding for creek and stream clean-up from the spring of 2011 floods and to date, has created 60 plus temporary jobs for Belmont County residents. A Wind Storm grant aided in clean-up efforts from last year's wind storm damage and to date has created six temporary jobs.

"I think it's an indication of a lot of people looking for employment. Things are picking up," Schlanz said.

Anyone interested in Connections located at 302 Walnut Street, Martins Ferry, Ohio, can visit belmontcountyconnections.com or call 740-633-5627 for more information.