Indiana’s unemployment rate stands at 3.5 percent for January and remains lower than the national rate of 4.0 percent. With the exception of one month when it was equal (October 2014), Indiana’s unemployment rate now has been below the U.S. rate for more than five years. 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.
Marshall County was ranked 43rd of the 92 counties in Indiana in January with an unemployment rate of 4.2. Looking back to December 2018 the rate was 3.2 and in November 3.4. Take a further look back, in the 2018 the county rate was 3.3 while in 2017 it was 4.2 and 2016 4.5.
Looking at the counties that surround Marshall you will see LaPorte and Starke Counties at a rate of 5.5 and ranked 6th and 8th in the state. Fulton County is 36th on the list of counties with a rate of 4.3 while Pulaski is 62nd with a rate of 3.8. Rounding out the counties around us you will find Elkhart with a rate of 3.7 and ranked 64th and Kosciusko who is 75th with a rate of 3.5.
Indiana’s labor force had a net increase of 7,613 over the previous month. This was a result of an increase of 1,556 unemployed residents and an increase of 6,057 employed residents. Indiana’s total labor force, which includes both Hoosiers employed and those seeking employment, stands at 3.39 million, and the state’s 65.1 percent labor force participation rate remains above the national rate of 63.2 percent.
Private sector employment has grown by 35,200 over the year and 7,200 over the previous month. The monthly increase is primarily due to gains in the Private Educational and Health Services (3,100) and the Trade, Transportation and Utilities (3,000) sectors. Gains were partially offset by a loss in the Professional and Business Services (-1,700) sector. Total private employment reached a preliminary record highpoint of 2,739,300, which is 7,200 above the new December 2018 peak. The January 2019 peak, like all data within this report, is subject to monthly revisions and annual benchmarking.
