Rate dropped in December

The unemployment rate dropped significantly last month. The state ranking improved a bit as well.

According to estimates Indiana Department of Workforce Development released Wednesday, Jay County was tied for the 44th-lowest unemployment rate in the state in December at 2.6%.

The local rate dropped by 0.7 percentage points from November. It was up 0.2 percentage points from December 2022.

Jay County had been in among the counties with lower unemployment rates in Indiana, coming in at 30th-lowest in August and 27th-lowest in October. It had climbed to 34th-highest in the state in November before dropping back again last month. It was tied with Allen, Clark, Marshall, Parke, Vanderburgh and Washington counties.

Unemployment trended down last month, with every county adjacent to Jay seeing a decline of at least 0.4 percentage points. The state rate fell by 0.6 percentage points to 2.8%.

“As core inflation abates and the economy normalizes, Indiana remains in a strong economic position,” said department of workforce development commissioner Richard Paulk in a press release Tuesday. “Private employment grew throughout the year and the Department of Workforce Development continues to partner with employers and our regional offices in connecting talent to jobs and providing necessary training to meet the state’s employment needs.”

Daviess County continued its strong run as its unemployment rate dropped to 1.9%. Clinton and Dubois counties were next at 2%.

Howard County had by far the highest unemployment rate in Indiana at 6.4%. Lake County was next at 4.7%, and every other county in the state came in at lower than 4%.

Area rates are as follows:

Adams County: 2.4%, down 0.6 percentage points, tied for 14th-lowest

Blackford County: 3.3%, down 0.7 percentage points, tied for ninth-highest

Delaware County: 3.2%, down 0.8 percentage points, tied for 14th-highest

Jay County: 2.6%, down 0.7 percentage points, tied for 44th-lowest

Randolph County: 2.8%, down 0.5 percentage points, tied for 32nd-highest

Wells County: 2.4%, down 0.4 percentage points, tied for 24th-lowest