Rate rises to 5.1 percent

Jay County posted its lowest unemployment rate in six years in March, and then surpassed that mark again in April. The number went up in May, but remained at less than 5.5 percent for the third straight month.
Indiana Department of Workforce Development released labor force estimates Friday, showing Jay County’s unemployment rate went up 0.4 percentage points in May to 5.1 percent.
Unemployment in Jay County topped 8 percent in January and February 2013, but fell all the way to 4.7 percent in April. That marked the lowest the rate had been since reaching 4.6 percent in April 2008.
The numbers were up for every county in the region with the exception of Wells, which saw no change. The state also saw an increase of 0.3 percentage points to 6.1 percent.
But state officials pointed to positives, noting that Indiana added 4,800 private sector jobs in May.
“The Hoosier labor force has grown significantly for the past eight months in a row,” said Scott B. Sanders, Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, in a press release. “This is not the case with some of our neighboring states who have experienced unemployment rate declines due to decreases in their labor force. It is clear that Hoosiers are going back to work and that good jobs are available.”
Indiana comes in below the national average of 6.1 percent. It’s unemplyment rate has dropped by 2.0 percentage points in the last year, which is the third largest decrease in the country.
Wells County leads the region with a 4.6 percent unemployment rate, tied for eighth lowest in the state. Delaware County, which saw its rate jump by 0.9 percentage points in May, is eighth highest in the state at 7.2 percent.
Dubois County ranked best in Indiana for the third straight month as its rate dipped to 3.9 percent. Fayette County (Connersville) dropped below Vermillion County for the worst unemployment rate in the state at 8.0 percent.
Individual area unemployment rates are as follows:
Adams County: 4.9 percent, up 0.4 percentage points, t-18th lowest.
Blackford County: 6.2 percent, up 0.3 percentage points, t-26th highest.
Delaware County: 7.2 percent, up 0.9 percentage points, t-eighth highest.
Jay County: 5.1 percent, up 0.4 percentage points, t-24th lowest.
Randolph County: 6.3 percent, up 0.3 percent, t-26th highest.
Wells County: 4.6 percent, no change, t-eighth lowest.[[In-content Ad]]