Unemployment drops to 3.7%

After three straight months of increases, the local unemployment rate dipped in August.

Jay County had an unemployment rate of 3.7% last month, according to estimates the Indiana Department of Workforce Development released this week.

Jay County’s rate went down by 0.3 percentage points, dropping back below 4%. The rate was the same as in August 2024.

Unemployment in Jay County went up by a total of 1.3 percentage points in May, June and July. It had been as low as 2.7% in April.

The trend was the same across the region, with counties seeing dips ranging from 0.2 percentage points to 0.5 percentage points.

Indiana’s unemployment rate was down overall at 3.8%, a decrease of 0.4 percentage points from July. It was 0.6 percentage points lower than in August 2024.

Union County continued its run of low unemployment, posting the state’s lowest rate at 2.8% in August. Wells and Boone counties were next at 3%.

Struggles continued in Howard County, which had the only rate in Indiana higher than 5%. It came in at 6.2%. Lake County (5%) was next, followed by Grant County (4.7%) and then Delaware County.

Area unemployment rates are as follows:

Adams County: 3.8%, down 0.2 percentage point, tied for 27th-highest

Blackford County: 4.2%, down 0.5 percentage points, tied for 11th-highest

Delaware County: 4.6%, down 0.4 percentage points, tied for fourth-highest

Grant County: 4.7%, down 0.4 percentage points, third-highest

Henry County: 3.8%, down 0.3 percentage points, tied for 27th-highest

Jay County: 3.7%, down 0.3 percentage points, tied for 46th-lowest

Randolph County: 3.8%, down 0.4 percentage points, tied for 27th-highest

Wayne County: 4.1%, down 0.4 percentage points, tied for 13th-highest