Unemployment is 3.8%

Unemployment ticked back down in March after consecutive months of increases saw the area hit its highest rates in years.

According to estimates released Monday by Indiana Department of Workforce Development, Jay County posted an unemployment rate of 3.8% in March.

The rate was down 0.3 percentage points from February after it had gone up a combined 1.5 percentage points the previous two months. It was still 0.3 percentage points higher than in March 2023.

Jay County’s rate of 4.1% in February marked the first time it had 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 down slightly across the board, with every county in the region seeing a decline.

The state rate came in at 4.1%, down 0.1 percentage points from February. Indiana officials counted labor force numbers, noting a 3,300-job increase in the private sector over the previous month.

“March 2024 was yet another record month for Indiana employment with more Hoosiers employed in the private sector than ever before,” said Department of Workforce Development commissioner Richard Paulk in a press release. “We saw an increase in demand for workers within six industry sectors including Private Education and Health Services and Professional and Business Services. These sectors added over two thousand jobs to Indiana. Combining these numbers with exciting announcements of new opportunities, including the SK Hynix announcement, shows the strength of the Indiana economy.”

Gibson County recorded the lowest unemployment rate in the state for the second month in a row, holding strong at 3%. 

Daviess and Dubois counties were next at 3.1%.

Lake County stayed at 6% to again have the highest unemployment rate in Indiana. Fayette and Howard counties were next at 5.5%.

Area rates are as follows:

Adams County: 3.7%, down 0.5 percentage points, tied for 33rd-lowest

Blackford County: 4.7%, down 0.2 percentage points, tied for 13th-highest

Delaware County: 4.9%, down 0.2 percentage points, tied for ninth-highest

Jay County: 3.8%, down 0.3 percentage points, tied for 36th-lowest

Randolph County: 4.2%, down 0.4 percentage points, tied for 33rd-highest

Wells County: 3.5%, down 0.1 percentage points, tied for 22nd-lowest