Rates see little change

Area unemployment rates saw little change in June.
Jay County saw the largest shift in its rate, dropping 0.2 percentage points to 4.8 percent, in the six-county area, according to Indiana Department of Workforce Development estimates released Wednesday. Each of the other counties had changes of 0.1 percentage points.
Despite the drop, the county’s rate remained higher than more than half of the counties in Indiana for the third consecutive month. It was tied for 37th-highest in the state.
Jay and Randolph counties sat in the middle of the pack in the region, with both Delaware and Blackford counties more than a full point higher at 6.0 percent and tied for eighth-highest in the state. Wells and Adams counties were again the area’s leaders.
Indiana’s unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.8 percent, which is well below the national average of 5.5 percent.

“Consistent sizable growth of our labor force and significant declines in the number of unemployed Hoosiers since January of 2013 culminated in the lowest unemployment rate in over seven years in June,” said IDWD commissioner Steven J. Braun in a press release. “During the same period, the number of private sector jobs has increased by more than 114,000 and our labor force has consistently participated at a rate above the national average.”
Dubois County posted the lowest unemployment rate in the state for the third straight month, tying in June with Hamilton County at 3.5 percent. In all, 15 counties in Indiana came in with rates of 3.9 percent or lower.
For the fourth month in a row, Vermillion County had the highest rate in the state. It posted 6.6 percent unemployment in June, with Lake County following at 6.5 percent.
Area unemployment rates are as follows:
Adams County — 4.1 percent, down 0.1 percentage points, t-22nd lowest.
Blackford County — 6.0 percent, down 0.1 percentage points, t-eighth highest.
Delaware County — 6.0 percent, up 0.1 percentage points, t-eighth highest.
Jay County — 4.8 percent, down 0.2 percentage points, t-37th highest
Randolph County — 4.8 percent, up 0.1 percentage points, t-37th highest.
Wells County — 4.0 percent, up 0.1 percentage points, t-16th lowest.