Indiana’s unemployment rate stands at 3.2 percent for October and remains lower than the national rate of 3.6 percent. 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’s October unemployment rate is 2.8 ranking us 54th of the 92 counties. In September the rate was 2.7. Looking back over a few months the August rate was 3.0 while July it was 3.4 and in June 2.8. Looking back over the last four years the unemployment rates in Marshall County have been 3.4 in 2018; 2.9 in 2017; 3.3 in 2016 and 3.6 in 2015.
Taking a looking at the counties surrounding Marshall you will find Starke County 10th on the list of counties with an October rate of 3.5 ranking them 10th. Saint Joseph County is 14th on the list with a rate of 3.4 and LaPorte County moved from 16th in September to 8th with a rate of 3.5. Elkhart County is sitting in 52nd place with a rate of 2.8, the same rate as Marshall County. Fulton County jumped from 58th in September with a rate of 2.5 to 35th with an October rate of 3.0. Kosciusko and Pulaski Counties are doing the best our area. K-County is 61st on the list of counties with a rate of 2.7 while Pulaski is 63rd with a rate of 2.7.
Indiana’s labor force had a net increase of 567 over the previous month. This was a result of a decrease of 1,397 unemployed residents and an increase of 1,964 employed residents. Indiana’s total labor force, which includes both Hoosiers employed and those seeking employment, stands at 3.38 million, and the state’s 64.4 percent labor force participationrate remains above the national rate of 63.3 percent.
