Indiana’s unemployment rate stands at 3.5 percent for August and remains lower than the national rate of 4.4 percent. With the exception of one month when it was equal (October 2015), Indiana’s unemployment rate now has been below the U.S. rate for four full years.
Marshall County’s unemployment rate for August was 3.6 ranking the county 66th of the 92 counties in the state. The August rate shows an increase in the number of unemployed. In July the rate was 2.9; June was 2.6 and April and May had ratings of 2.3.
Taking a look at the counties surrounding Marshall you will find Starke County who remains 16th on the list of counties with a rate of 4.6 up 6 tenths from their July rate and nearly a full point higher than their June rate.
Fulton County also saw a slight increase in their unemployment number from July to August. The July rate was 3.3 and their August rate is 3.9.
Pulaski County’s rate increased from 2.9 in June to 3.4 in July to 4.0 in August.
St. Joseph County is ranked 38th with a rate of 4.2 for August up from the 3.6 rate in July.
Kosciusko is 88th on the list of counties with a rate of 3.2 another county with an increase from their July rate of 2.7.
Elkhart County remains at the bottom of the list of 92 counties with an August unemployment rate of 3.0 a slight increase from their 2.5 rate in July.
The unemployment rate is a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicator that reflects the number of unemployed people as a percentage of the labor force. Indiana’s labor force increased by 4,615 over the previous month due to an 8,007 decrease in employment and a 12,622 increase in unemployment. Indiana’s total labor force stands at nearly 3.34 million, and the state’s 64.4 percent labor force participation rate remains above the national rate of 62.9 percent.
In addition, Indiana’s initial and ongoing unemployment insurance claims are at historical lows.
