Rate hits lowest mark since 2000

A month ago, only the state’s three leading counties had unemployment rates lower than 3 percent. Now nearly three-quarters of the state, including Jay County, can boast that feat.

Jay County’s unemployment rate dropped by more than a point to 2.7 percent in April, hitting its lowest mark in more than a decade and a half.

Local unemployment last saw rates this low in 2000, when the national average for the year was 4 percent. This month’s rate was the lowest since hitting 2.5 percent in October 2000.

Adams County also had a great month in terms of unemployment, tying with Bartholomew, Daviess, Hamilton and Kosciusko counties for the fourth-lowest rate in the state at 2 percent. Dubois, Elkhart and LaGrange counties tied for the lead at 1.9 percent.

Staggeringly low unemployment was the trend statewide, as 67 of Indiana’s 92 counties came in with rates below 3 percent. The state rate matched that of Jay County at 2.7 percent while the national rate came in at 4.1 percent.

“Indiana’s unemployment rate reaching its lowest point since 2001 is a testament to the strength of the Hoosier economy; however, it's also indicative of an ever-tightening labor market for Hoosier businesses,” state workforce development commissioner Steven J. Braun said in a press release. “I encourage unemployed and underemployed Hoosiers to be steadfast in their job searches and consider training and placement opportunities available at their local WorkOne Career Center.”