Unemployment Rate Drops in Northeast Indiana
Article by KPC News | KPC Media | January 27, 2020
INDIANAPOLIS — Unemployment rates dropped for all northeast Indiana counties in December, says the most recent data released buy the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
The monthly unemployment rate is a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicator that reflects the number of unemployed people seeking employment within the prior four weeks as a percentage of the labor force.
“The unemployment numbers have been telling us the same story for a few years now; the job market in Fort Wayne and northeast Indiana remains strong. Although there have been a few closures announced in the past few months, the labor market remains sufficiently robust that displaced workers, assuming they have the needed skills, should be able to find new employment," said Rachel Blakeman, Community Research Institute director at Purdue Fort Wayne.
LaGrange County returned to its relatively constant role of leading not only the region but the state with one of the lowest unemployment rates. LaGrange was eighth lowest in the state at 2.2%.
This, however, comes before the closing of Dometic, a recreational vehicle supplier that announced it would be closing in March and eliminating nearly 200 jobs.
Steuben County was right behind LaGrange County with an unemployment rate of 2.3%, which tied it for ninth lowest in the state. In November, Steuben County's unemployment rate was 2.5%, which was LaGrange County's November rate, also.
DeKalb County's December unemployment rate was 2.5%, a drop from 2.8% in November. Noble County had an unemployment rate of 2.9 percent, a drop of from 3.0% in November.
Elsewhere in the region, Allen County posted a 2.9% unemployment rate, a decline from 3.2% in November. Whitley County's December rate was 2.5%, a decline from 2.7% in November.
"Comparing year over year for the Fort Wayne metropolitan statistical area, the size of the labor force and more specifically the number of people employed or looking for work has stayed about even, going from 3.0% a year ago to 2.8% last month," Blakeman said.
Meanwhile, Indiana’s unemployment rate stood at 3.2% for December and remains lower than the national rate of 3.5%.
Indiana’s labor force had a net increase of 1,948 over the previous month. This was a result of a decrease of 3 unemployed residents and an increase of 1,951 employed residents. Indiana's total labor force, which includes both Hoosiers employed and those seeking employment, stands at 3.38 million, and the state’s 64.4 percent labor force participation rate remains above the national rate of 63.2 percent.
Article source: https://www.kpcnews.com/heraldrepublican/article_5e844f20-0bd3-53af-9a0a-fe760fe31ac7.html