Rate drops to 5.7

The unemployment rate spiked in January before dipping back below 6 percent last month.
Jay County’s unemployment rate for February was 5.7 percent according to estimates released Monday by Indiana Department of Workforce Development. It had spiked to 6.5 percent in January after finishing 2014 at 5.2 percent.
Last month’s dip was a return to good news for the rate after it had climbed in four consecutive months. Jay County’s rate had gone up by more than two percentage points after hitting a seven-year low of 4.3 percent in September.
Rates dropped throughout the six-county region, with Adams County dropping back below 5 percent. Its rate of 4.8 percent was the best in the area, marking the first time in more than two years that Wells County (5 percent) has not held that position.
The state’s unemployment rate also fell in February to 6.1 percent. It had jump a full percentage point, hitting 6.7 percent in January.
Indiana officials touted growth of the private sector, noting that those jobs are at near-peak levels. Indiana has added the second most manufacturing jobs since 2009, trailing only Michigan.
“Indiana’s consistent private sector growth, particularly over the past two years, is an encouraging trend,” said IDWD commissioner Steven J. Braun said in a press release. “Equally as important is the fact that during that time, our labor force has also grown by 82,000 individuals, which is one of the largest increases in the nation. Hoosiers, encouraged by the availability of good jobs, are reengaging in the workforce.”
January was a rough month in terms of unemployment rate for Blackford and Delaware counties as they saw jumps to 8.4 percent and 8 percent respectively. Blackford County remained worst in the region this month at 7.5 percent, which is tied for 17th highest in the state.

Vermillion County continues to have the highest unemployment rate in the state at 9.3 percent. No other county cleared the 9 percent mark, with Lake County the second highest at 8.8 percent.
Hamilton County (4.1 percent) edged Dubois County (4.2) percent for the lowest rate in Indiana.
Individual area unemployment rates are as follows:
Adams County: 4.8 percent, down 0.6 percentage points, t-seventh lowest.
Blackford County: 7.5 percent, down 0.9 percentage points, t-17th highest.
Delaware County: 7.2 percent, down 0.8 percentage points, t-21st highest.
Jay County: 5.7 percent, down 0.8 percentage points, t-37th lowest.
Randolph County: 6.8 percent, down 0.6 percentage points, t-28th highest.
Wells County: 5.0 percent, down 0.7, t-14th lowest.