Unemployment numbers went down in March, according to statistics released by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
Over the past year, the state’s unemployment rate declined two percent which is the third largest decrease in the nation.
Starke County’s unemployment rate fell one point to 8.2 percent from February’s rate, while the state’s rate fell .2 percent to 5.9 percent.
Starke County’s unemployment numbers rose in February to 9.1 percent which now ranks the county 8th in the state.
The state rate is 6.1 percent which is down .3 percent for February.
Eighty-seven counties rose in unemployment in February, including all of the surrounding counties. Pulaski County was up .4 percent to 6.2 percent unemployment, Marshall County rose to 7.2 percent and LaPorte County rose to 9.4 percent and is now ranked third in the state in terms of unemployment.
Starke County is still ranked 10th in the state with 8.5 percent unemployment which is an increase of 0.7 percent from December. All surrounding counties increased in unemployment. Pulaski County’s unemployment number rose to 6 percent, Marshall County up to 7.1 percent, LaPorte County up to 9 percent, Fulton County sits at 8.8 percent, St. Joseph County is at 7.3 percent and Porter County is at 7.1 percent.
Despite the numbers, the state led the nation in manufacturing jobs added in January with 4,600 and ranks second in the rate of growth for January. Indiana also is second in the nation in jobs added over the past year with 13,800 and 6th in rate of growth over the past year.
Overall, Indiana had an unemployment drop of 0.4 percent.
Pulaski County dropped by 0.8 percentage points, ranking 79th in the state at 6.2 percent. Marshall County came in at 7.7 percent, having dropped by 0.6 percentage points, ranking 36th. LaPorte County came in at 9.1 percent, dropping 0.8 percent, ranking 10th. Fulton County dropped 0.6 percentage points for 7.9 percent and ranking 33rd. St. Joseph County also dropped 0.8 percent, ranking 11th at 9 percent, and Porter County came in at 7.6 percent, dropping 0.6 percentage points for 37th.
Meanwhile, Pulaski County’s unemployment rate dropped 0.3 percent to 8.1 percent, ranking them the 76th highest county for unemployment; Marshall County dropped by 0.6 percent to 9.7 percent, ranking them 43rd; LaPorte County’s rate remained at 12 percent for a rank of eighth highest; Fulton County’s rate dropped by 0.2 percent to 10.3 percent, ranking them 33rd; St. Joseph County also dropped by 0.2 percent to 10.6 percent for 28th place; and Porter County dropped by 0.3 percent to 9 percent, making them the 57th highest county for unemployment.
Over 7,700 new jobs were added in Indiana in October. The job gains last month resulted in a drop in Indiana’s unemployment rate. Unemployment decreased to 8.0 percent from 8.2 percent in September which is the largest one month decrease since April.
Though Indiana’s unemployment rate dropped for the first time since April, the state lost several thousand jobs last month. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, September’s state jobless rate was 8.2 percent, down 0.1 percent from August. Despite that drop, however, Indiana lost 6000 private sector jobs last month, the first significant drop in almost a year.
Hoosier employers have continued to grow their workforces for the tenth month in a row, once again adding jobs in Indiana to the tune of 7200 private sector jobs. The rate of job growth in Indiana triped the national average of 0.1 percent, and since July 2009, the low point of employment, Indiana has added more than 150,000 private sector jobs.
The areas with the most significant gains for the month of August were Private Educational and Health Services with 5200 jobs added and Construction with 2200 jobs added.
The federally extended unemployment insurance benefits will be reduced by 10 weeks beginning Sunday, Sept. 2.
This is a result of federal legislation which reauthorized the extended benefits earlier this year. Those who begin the federal extension after Sunday may be eligible to receive a maximum of 63 weeks of benefits instead of 73.
Department of Worforce Development offices and WorkOne Centers will be closed on Monday due to the Labor Day holiday. Eligible unemployment vouchers will be paid starting Tuesday, Sept. 4.
Indiana’s rate of job growth continues to exceed the U.S. average. More than 143,000 private sector jobs have been added since July 2009 and Indiana has significantly outpaced the national rate of growth during this period.
The unemployment rate for July was calculated at 8.2 percent which is a 0.2 percent increase from June.
Starke County ranks 12th in the state with an unemployment rate of 9.9 percent. LaPorte ranks 14th with an unemployment rate of 9.8 percent, Marshall County is 44th with 8.4 percent, Porter County is 56th with 7.7 percent and Pulaski County is 83rd with 6.8 percent. Fayette County has an unemployment rate of 11.3 percent, giving them the highest rate in the state. DuBois County has only 5.4 percent.
Forty-two counties have reported an increase in unemployment and 30 counties reported a decrease.
The number of private sector jobs in Indiana is still on the rise for the eighth consecutive month. In June alone, 1400 jobs were added in the private sector.
Indiana continues to outpace the U.S. job growth average of 0.9 percent with its average of 1.5 percent, and since July 2009 – the low point of employment – Indiana has added 140,000 private sector jobs. This 3.3 percent increase significantly exceeds the national rate of growth of just six percent.
Starke County dropped out of the top five Indiana unemployment counties in May. The county’s 9.6 percent rate for unemployment placed it in eighth place, tying La Porte County for the position.
Other rates for nearby counties include Pulaski at 6.2 percent, Marshall at 8.1 percent, Fulton at 7.8 percent, St. Joseph with a rate of 8.9 percent, and Porter at 7.3 percent.
Every county in the state had a lower rate than that of March, and the US rate was 8.2 percent while Indiana’s rate was 7.9 percent.
DuBois County at 5.4 percent and Hamilton at 5.5 percent were the lowest in the state.
Starke County currently holds the fourth highest unemployment rate in the state, even though its rate went down a full percentage point from March to April.
The county’s 9.8 percent unemployment rate was only surpassed by Fayette, Vermillion, and Lawrence counties. Rounding out the top five are Blackford and Sullivan that tied for the position with a 9.7 percent rate.
Starke County’s unemployment numbers are still in double digits. The February figures were released this week, and even though we’re down 0.4 percent from January, the unemployment rate still is over 11 percent at 11.3 percent. This places Starke County at number five in the state.
The number one county is Vermillion at 12.5 percent, followed by Fayette at 11.8 percent, and Clay and Lawrence both at 11.4 percent.
Hamilton County is the lowest in the state at 5.9 percent.
Pulaski County is the lowest of the surrounding counties at 7.3 percent, followed by Porter at 8.1 percent. Fulton at 9.2 percent, Marshall at 9.6 percent, St. Joseph at 9.9 percent, and La Porte at 10.9 percent.
Indiana’s figure is 8.4 percent with only Ohio at 7.6 percent lower in the Midwest.
