Indiana’s unemployment rate stands at 4.1 percent for February and remains lower than the national rate of 4.7 percent. 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 7,912 over the previous month with a 6,394 increase in employment and a 1,518 increase in unemployment. Indiana’s total labor force stands at over 3.32 million and the state’s 64.4 percent labor force participation rate remains above the national rate of 63.0 percent.
Marshall County’s unemployment rate for February was 4.1 ranking us 71st out of the 92 counties in Indiana. This rate shows the slightest decrease from the 4.2 rate in January but is still higher than the 3.4 rate in December.
Taking a look at the counties that surround Marshall you see LaPorte who remained steady with an unemployment rate of 6.6 in January and February. They are currently ranked 5th of the 92 counties.Starke County was also steady with a rate of 6.4 the same that they had in January and 8th of the list of counties in the state.
Fulton County took a big leap up the list of counties in January when they moved from 30th in December with a rate of 4.3 to 19th in January with a rate of 5.6. Their February rate was 5.3 and the now sit in 26th position.
St. Joseph County saw a decrease in their unemployment rate. While their rate was 4.7 in January their rate was 4.6 in February and they were ranked 54th. Kosciusko County continues to see low unemployment numbers. In January their rate was 3.8 and they were 84th on the list of counties. Their February rate was 3.6 and they dropped to 88th on the list of counties.
Elkhart County had the lowest unemployment rate on the list of 92 counties in February with a rate of 3.3 and current ranking of 92nd of the 92 counties in the state.
“Gains in Indiana’s labor force participation rate are encouraging and further growth is needed to ensure Indiana reaches its workforce potential as a state,” said Steven J. Braun, Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development (DWD). “There are thousands of good paying jobs currently available throughout Indiana. I encourage unemployed and underemployed Hoosiers to visit their local WorkOne Career Center to learn more about training programs and job opportunities in their local community.”
Commissioner Braun also noted private sector employment has grown by more than 33,000 over the year. He added that initial unemployment insurance claims remain at the lowest point in three decades.
