Unemployment 4%

The local unemployment rate dipped last month.

It still remained higher than more than half of its counterparts in the state.

Jay County’s unemployment rate ranked tied for the 36th-highest in the state in December according to estimates Indiana Department of Workforce Development released this week.

The county had an unemployment rate of 4% in December, which was down 0.3 percentage points from the previous month. It was up 1.4 percentage points from December 2023.

Unemployment in Jay County ranged between 3.2% in April and 4.7% in July in 2024. It was below 4% for half of the months last year.

In December, unemployment was down slightly across the state. It dropped to 4% from 4.2% in November. It was still up by 1.1 percentage points from December 2023.

Howard County had the highest unemployment rate in Indiana again, coming in at 7.7%. Fayette County was next at 6.1%

Gibson and Daviess counties in southwest Indiana continued their run of low unemployment as they tied for the lowest rate in the state at 2.8%. Martin, Hamilton and Ohio counties were next at 3%.

Area unemployment rates are as follows:

Adams County: 3.5%, down 0.4 percentage points, tied for 24th-lowest

Blackford County: 5.1%, down 0.6 percentage points, tied for sixth-highest

Delaware County: 4.6%, down 0.1 percentage points, tied for 13th-highest

Jay County: 4%, down 0.3 percentage points, tied for 36th-highest

Randolph County: 4.5%, up 0.2 percentage points, tied for 25th-highest

Wells County: 3.4%, down 0.2 percentage points, tied for 18th-lowest