Unemployment Rates Up from Previous Month, Down from Last Year

Starke and Pulaski counties’ unemployment rates went up last month, but they were lower than the same period last year. According to the latest report from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, Starke County saw an unemployment rate of 4.4 percent last month. That’s a tenth of a percent higher than the July figure, but a tenth of a percent lower than it was in August of 2017.

The trend was similar in Pulaski County. Its August unemployment rate was 3.5 percent, up from 3.2 percent the month before but down from 3.7 percent in August of last year.

Both counties’ labor forces grew slightly and the actual number of people employed also went up, when compared to August of 2017. The state as a whole saw a non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.7 percent last month, while the national rate was 3.9 percent.