More than 18,000 Hoosiers joined the labor force in March, marking a third consecutive month of unprecedented growth. Over the past year, Indiana’s labor force has grown by over 88,000 and by over 157,000 since January 2013. Correspondingly, the state’s labor force participation rate increased 0.3 percent in March and continues to outpace the national average by nearly two percent (64.9 percent vs. 63.0 percent).
Marshall County’s unemployment rate March is 4.7 ranking us 74th of the 92 counties. In February the rate was 5.5% make the county 58th of the 92 counties.
Looking at the counties that surround us you will find LaPorte ranked 4th in the state with an unemployment rate of 7.7, a reduction of 1.1 from 8.6 in February. Starke County is 6th on the list with a rate of 7.3 a substantial reduction from the 8.2 in March while St. Joseph County is 47th with a rate of 5.5 another county seeing a whole point reduction in unemployment rates. Fulton County is ranked 37th on the list with a rate of 5.8. Kosciusko improved that ranking to 73rd, up from 77th in March. Their unemployment rate is 4.7, down from 5.2 and Elkhart County has dropped to 87th on the list a counties with an unemployment rate of 4.3 a half a point drop from the February rate of 4.8.
Indiana’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicator that reflects the number of unemployed people as a percentage of the labor force, rose by 0.3 percent over the previous month to 5.0 percent in March, matching the national average. Despite the uptick in unemployment, there were 9,300 more Hoosiers employed in March than in February.
“Over 60,000 Hoosiers joined the workforce in the first three months of 2016, which is indicative of worker confidence in finding and securing gainful employment in Indiana,” said Steven J. Braun, Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. “While this influx of workers has an effect on the unemployment rate, the fact that 9,300 more Hoosiers are employed than last month, and over 87,000 more are employed than this time last year, is a testament to Indiana’s strong and growing economy.”
Commissioner Braun also noted that initial unemployment insurance claims are at the state’s lowest level in more than two decades.
