The Indiana Department of Workforce Development released the final unemployment rates for 2017 and Indiana’s rate stayed steady at 3.4 percent, still coming in lower than the national average of 4.1 percent.
In Starke County, the unemployment rate stayed consistent with the national average, and November’s figure by staying at 4.1 percent. However, Starke County’s unemployment rate for December 2017 is down from the same month in 2016, when was 5.3 percent.
In Pulaski County, December’s unemployment rate dropped slightly from November, moving from 3.3 to 3.1 percent. That’s down almost a point and half from the same time in 2016, when Pulaski’s unemployment rate was 4.5 percent.
In December, the Starke County labor force had 129 fewer people than in November, while in Pulaski County there were 90 fewer people in the work force.
When measuring statistics, the labor force is determined by the amount of employed workers and the number of unemployed individuals who indicate they do not have a job but they have been seeking employment within the last four weeks.
Individuals who indicate they are not seeking work are not included in the labor force. As a result of fewer people seeking employment, less people are considered unemployed.
