The number of Starke and Pulaski County residents working is heading back down slightly, even as unemployment rates continue to drop.
Starke County’s September unemployment rate was 6.1 percent, according to the latest report from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. That’s down from 6.7 percent the month before. In Pulaski County, the trend was similar, with an unemployment rate of 4.8 percent, compared to 5.3 percent in August.
But the estimated number of residents employed actually decreased by 16 in Starke County and three in Pulaski County, since the labor force has shrunk slightly. Both counties’ unemployment rates are still well over two percentage points higher than where they were at this time last year.
The state as a whole had a non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 5.8 percent in September, while the national rate dropped to 7.7 percent.
