Area Unemployment Rates Drop
Article by KPC Media | KPC News | May 21, 2019
INDIANAPOLIS — Unemployment rates in the four-county area declined in April, say statistics provided by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
DeKalb, LaGrange and Steuben counties were tied for ninth lowest employment rate in the state at 2.4% while Noble County’s rate of 2.6% was tied for 24th lowest in Indiana.
The monthly unemployment rate is a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicator that reflects the number of unemployed people seeking employment within the prior four weeks as a percentage of the labor force.
While the counties saw declines across the board in the area, they remain on par with April 2018, the benchmark for unemployment. And while that’s the case, all but DeKalb County saw increases in the labor force and number of people employed in April 2019 compared to April 2018.
In April, both DeKalb and LaGrange counties saw their unemployment rates decline to 2.4% from 3.1% in March while Steuben dropped to 2.4% from 3.0% in March. Noble County declined to 2.6% in April from 3.4 percent in March.
A year ago in April, DeKalb had an unemployment rate of 2.4%, LaGrange was 2.1%, Noble was 2.5% and Steuben came in at 2.3%.
Elsewhere in the area, Allen County’s unemployment rate declined to 2.7% in April from 3.4% in March. Whitley County, which is part of the Fort Wayne Metropolitan Statistical Area, declined to 2.6% from 3.5%.
Indiana’s unemployment rate remains at 3.6% for April and the national rate also stands at 3.6%.
Indiana’s labor force had a net increase of 1,349 over the previous month. This was a result of an increase of 29 unemployed residents and an increase of 1,320 employed residents. Indiana’s total labor force, which includes both Hoosiers employed and those seeking employment, stands at 3.41 million, and the state’s 65.3% labor force participation rate remains above the national rate of 62.8%.
Information provided by Kayli Schroeder, communications associate with Workforce Development, points out the following statistics:
• Indiana’s unemployment rate has decreased 7.0 percentage points since July 2009 (the low point of employment), which ranks 10th in the U.S.
• Indiana’s labor force has increased by 37,495 over the year and is at 3,415,523, which is a new labor force peak.
• Indiana’s labor force participation rate has outperformed the national average for 58 months in a row. Indiana’s rate is currently 65.3% compared to 62.8% nationally.
• Indiana private sector jobs have grown 36,700 over the year.
Article source: https://www.kpcnews.com/heraldrepublican/article_4fc1c500-33f6-5211-b425-4b1ab493b345.html