In the last month before the COVID-19 impact, Starke and Pulaski Counties saw their unemployment rates decline.
Starke County’s February unemployment rate was 4.8 percent, according to the latest report from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. That’s down from 5.1 percent the month before and 5.8 percent in February of 2019.
Pulaski County’s February unemployment rate dropped from 4.1 percent in January to 3.8 percent in February, but that’s still a tenth of a percent higher than it was the previous February. Fewer Starke and Pulaski County residents were believed to be working last month than during the same period last year, as their labor forces have shrunk somewhat.
Both counties saw a higher unemployment rate than the state as a whole. Indiana’s non-seasonally adjusted rate was 3.4 percent, while the national rate dropped to 3.8 percent.
Unemployment is likely to spike in the March report, as many Hoosiers find themselves out of work due to COVID-19.
