Indiana’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate dropped 0.2 percent for a second-consecutive month and now stands at 4.6 percent for the month of July. A primary cause for this drop is a third-straight month of significant gains in Hoosiers finding employment (11,276 in July) coupled with a substantial amount of Hoosiers leaving the unemployment ranks (-7,480 in July).
Locally, Marshall County’s unemployment rate decreased from 3.9 in June to 3.6 in July. Looking back a few months you find the county’s unemployment rate at: 3.6 in May, 4.2 in April and 4.7 in March.
Looking at the counties that surround Marshall County you will find LaPorte County in 10th place with a rate of 5.6, a decrease from the 5.9 in June. Starke County stayed at 17th with a rate of 5.1 another slight decrease from the 5.3 in June. Fulton County is 25th on the list of 92 counties with a rate of 4.8 up from the 4.6 in June and 4.5 in May. Pulaski and St. Joseph counties are 40 and 41st respectively with an unemployment rate of 4.5. Elkhart County’s 3.7 rate put them at 71st on the list followed you Kosciusko County who is 73rd on the list with the same rate of 3.7 and Marshall County is 79th of the 92 counties with their 3.6 rate.
“Indiana’s labor force has been trending positively throughout the last three years, which demonstrates confidence among Hoosier jobseekers as they secure gainful employment. The corresponding contraction of the applicant pool is also increasing employer demand for workers with the right skills and training,” said Steven J. Braun, Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development (DWD). “DWD, along with its WorkOne Career Centers and other community partners, can assist jobseekers in obtaining the skills and training necessary to fill the many high-wage, high-demand jobs available throughout Indiana.”
Commissioner Braun also noted that since 2009, the low point of employment for the state, Indiana’s private sector employment growth has surpassed the nation (13.8 percent vs. 13.0 percent). Total private employment for July stands at 30,000 above the March 2000 peak, and July is the 13th-consecutive month above that peak. Additionally, initial and continued unemployment insurance claims for the first 32 weeks of 2016 are at their lowest point since 1987.
