By Miles Flynn | Southern Indiana Business Report
INDIANAPOLIS — July jobless rates saw declines from June, and from July 2020, across the region, for Indiana and nationally, according to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
The monthly unemployment rate is a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicator that reflects the number of unemployed people seeking employment within the prior four weeks as a percentage of the labor force. The labor force includes residents employed and those seeking employment.
Crawford County
Crawford County’s July unemployment rate was 3.7%, which ranked 39th highest among Indiana’s 92 counties. The rate is down 0.6 percentage points from the June preliminary figure and down four points from July 2020. Crawford County’s unemployment stood at 16.4% for April 2020, the height of the pandemic shutdown, and remained in double digits for three months.
In a labor force of 4,874 people for July, 180 residents were unemployed. The labor force is down 85 people from June but up 71 residents from July 2020.
Daviess County
Daviess County again registered one of the lowest unemployment rates in the state. The July rate, 2.6%, ranked 87th highest in Indiana. The July rate is down 0.4 percentage points from June and down 1.6 percentage points from July 2020. Daviess County’s jobless rate for April 2020 was 8.4%.
With a labor force of 16,674 people, Daviess County had 436 unemployed residents for July. The labor force is down 76 people from June and down 250 residents from July 2020.
Dubois County
Dubois County also enjoyed one of the state’s lowest jobless rates in the report for July. The figure came in at 2.7%, which ranks 85th highest. The July rate is down 0.3 percentage points from June and is down 3.4 percentage points from July 2020. Dubois County’s unemployment rate stood at 10.6% for April 2020.
Out of 22,659 people in the county’s labor force for July, 605 were unemployed. The labor force is down 1,268 people from June and down 401 people from July 2020.
Greene County
The July unemployment rate for Greene County was 4%, which ranked 30th out of Indiana’s 92 counties. The July rate is down 0.6 percentage points from June and down 2.7 percentage points from July 2020. Greene County’s jobless rate for April 2020 was 12.8%.
Of a labor force of 13,051 residents for July, 524 people were unemployed. The labor force is down 449 residents from June but up 19 from July 2020.
Lawrence County
Lawrence County’s July jobless rate came in at 4.1%, ranking 28th highest among Hoosier counties. The July rate is down 0.3 percentage points from June and down 3.5 percentage points from July 2020. Lawrence County’s jobless rate for April 2020 was 17.6% and didn’t drop back into single digits until the report for July.
Out of a labor force of 20,258 residents for July, 827 of those people were unemployed. The labor force is down 659 people from June and down 360 from July 2020.
Martin County
Martin County saw a July unemployment rate of 2.8%, which ranked 83rd highest in Indiana. The July rate is down 0.4 percentage points from June and down 2.2 percentage points from July 2020. Martin County’s jobless rate for April 2020 was 8.8%.
Out of 5,495 people in the labor force for July, there were 153 unemployed residents. The labor force is down 51 residents from June but up 52 from July 2020.
Orange County
Orange County, with its heavy dependence on tourism, again registered one of the higher unemployment rates in the state for July. The figure came in at 5%, ranking ninth highest in Indiana. The July rate is down 0.1 percentage points from June and down 9.3 percentage points from July 2020. Orange County’s jobless rate for April 2020 was a staggering 25.8% and remained in double digits for four months.
With a labor force of 7,876 people for July, Orange County had 391 unemployed residents. Labor force participation is down 987 people from June and down 1,468 from July 2020.
Washington County
Washington County’s July unemployment rate was 3.4%, which ranked as 56th highest in the state. The July rate is down 0.6 percentage points from June and down 3.6 percentage points from July 2020. Washington County’s jobless rate for April 2020 was 19.1% and remained in double digits for three months.
Out of a labor force of 13,667 residents for July, 459 of those people were unemployed. The labor force is down 43 people from June but is up 199 residents from July 2020.
State and nation
Indiana’s non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for July was 4.2%, and the national rate was 5.7%. Seasonally adjusted rates were 4.1% and 5.4%, respectively. (Seasonally adjusted numbers are not available below the state level.)
Continuing with non-seasonally adjusted numbers, the state’s July rate is down 0.5 percentage points from what was reported for June and down 3.7 percentage points from July 2020. Indiana saw a jobless rate of 17.1% for April 2020, and the rate didn’t slip back down into single digits until the report for last July.
The United States’ July rate is down 0.4 percentage points from June and down 4.8 percentage points from July 2020. The rate was at 14.4% for April 2020 and remained in double digits for four months.
Out of Indiana’s July labor force of 3,353,799 residents, 141,527 of those people were unemployed. Indiana’s labor force is down 30,539 people from June and down 2,089 residents from July 2020. The state’s 63.2% labor force participation rate remains above the national rate of 61.7%.
Nationally, out of a labor force of 162,817,000 residents for July, 9,221,000 of them were unemployed. The country’s labor force is up 650,000 people from June and up 1,443,000 people from July 2020.
State employment by sector
Private sector employment in Indiana has increased by 96,600 over the year and increased by 17,100 over the previous month. The monthly increase is primarily due to gains in the Manufacturing (4,800); the Trade, Transportation and Utilities (4,500); and the Private Educational and Health Services (2,800) sectors. Gains were offset by a loss in the Financial Activities (-1,600) sector. Total private employment stands at 2,650,500, which is 90,000 below the December 2019 peak.