Rate highest since 2020

Unemployment has shot up over the last two months.

According to estimates Indiana Department of Workforce Development released this week, Jay County’s unemployment rate for February came in at 4.1%.

The rate has gone up by 1.5 percentage points since December. February’s rate was up 0.8 percentage points from the previous year.

Jay County’s unemployment rate had not reached 4% or higher since September 2020 following the spike related to coronavirus pandemic shutdowns. (It was as high as 19.6% in April 2020.)

Unemployment was up in general throughout the region and state, as Indiana’s rate climbed to 4.2%. It has gone up 1.4 percentage points since coming in below 3% in December.

State officials continue to tout the health of the state’s economy, noting that Indiana had an increase of 2.800 jobs over the last month.

"Indiana's overall economic footing and outlook remain solid with near historically low unemployment," said DWD commissioner Richard Paulk in a press release. "Peak private sector employment — 2,845,200 jobs — is driven by robust labor force participation in the key 25 to 54 demographic."

The national rate also came in at 4.2%.

Gibson County posted the lowest unemployment rate in Indiana at 3%. Daviess County, which was tied with Gibson for the lowest rate in January, was next at 3.1%.

Lake County had the highest unemployment rate in the state for the second month in a row as its number jumped to 6%. Howard County was next at 5.8%.

Area rates are as follows:

Adams County: 3.2%, up 0.8 percentage points, tied for 29th-lowest

Blackford County: 4.9%, up 0.4 percentage points, tied for 12th-highest

Delaware County: 5.1%, up 0.7 percentage points, tied for eighth-highest

Jay County: 4.1%, up 0.4 percentage points, tied for 42nd-lowest

Randolph County: 4.6%, up 0.5 percentage points, tied for 23rd-highest

Wells County: 3.6%, up 0.1 percentage points, tied for 17th-lowest