Rate rises again

For the second straight month, the unemployment rate has gone up.
Jay County’s rate, which has been on a generally positive trend over the last two years, climbed to 5.1 percent in November according to estimates the Indiana Department of Workforce Development released Monday.
The unemployment rate in Jay County had been below 5 percent for three consecutive months, having hit a seven-year low of 4.3 percent in September. It climbed to 4.8 percent in October and went up another 0.3 percentage points last month.
It is still nearly two percentage points lower than it was at this time last year when it sat at 6.8 percent.
Despite the increase, Jay County’s mark remains below the state and national averages. Indiana’s rate went up 0.5 percentage points in November to 5.8 percent, and the U.S. number stayed stable at 5.5 percent.
Steven J. Braun, commissioner of IDWD, still touted the overall improvement in the Hoosier state this year. Indiana’s rate has been below 6 percent in seven of the last eight months.
“Indiana’s private sector job growth in November, when taken in historical context is quite remarkable,” Braun said. “Equally impressive is the fact that the Hoosier State has added more than 75,000 individuals to our labor force over the past year alone.”
Jay County’s rate increase of 0.3 percentage points was the smallest among its five contiguous counties, which all saw jumps of between 0.4 and 0.6 percentage points. Wells County continues to lead the area with a rate of 4.8 percent.
Dubois County again posted the state’s best rate at 4.1 percent, with Hamilton and Bartholomew counties following at 4.4 percent. Fayette and Lake counties shared the worst rate in the state at 7.9 percent.
Individual area unemployment rates are as follows:
Adams County: 5.0 percent, up 0.4 percentage points, t-18th lowest.
Blackford County: 6.3 percent, up 0.5 percentage points, t-23rd highest.
Delaware County: 6.7 percent, up 0.5 percentage points, t-11th highest.
Jay County: 5.1 percent, up 0.3 percentage points, t-27th lowest.
Randolph County: 5.9 percent, up 0.5 percentage points, t-30th highest.
Wells County: 4.8 percent, up 0.6 percentage points, t-fifth lowest.