Starke and Pulaski counties’ unemployment rates saw little change in March, but the figures still don’t reflect the impact of COVID-19 and the stay-at-home order.
Starke County’s March unemployment rate was 4.9 percent, according to the latest report from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. That’s unchanged from the month before but down from 5.4 percent in March of 2019. Pulaski County’s unemployment rate dropped a tenth of a percent to 3.7 last month, compared to 3.4 percent during the same period last year.
During Friday’s COVID-19 press conference, Department of Workforce Development Commissioner Fred Payne explained that the report only covered the first half of the month, due to the nationally-coordinated reporting schedule. “That timeframe covers the week that includes the 12th day of the month, so you’re really looking from midway from month to month,” Payne said. “So for March, that week actually ended right before we started seeing a surge in our unemployment claims.” He said next month’s report will be more reflective of what’s happening now.
At the same time, both Starke and Pulaski counties had fewer residents employed last month, as their labor forces 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 went up to 4.5 percent.
