By Miles Flynn | Southern Indiana Business Report
INDIANAPOLIS — September jobless rates were improved across the region, state and nation, according to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. However, labor force participation numbers were more of a mixed bag.
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 September unemployment rate was 3.4%, which ranked 28th highest among Indiana’s 92 counties. The rate is down from the August preliminary figure by 0.3 percentage points and down 1.9 points from September 2020. Looking back to the worst days of the COVID shutdown, Crawford County’s unemployment stood at 16.4% for April 2020 and remained in double digits for three months.
In a labor force of 4,855 people for September, 167 residents were unemployed. The labor force is down 96 people from August but up 54 residents from September 2020.
Daviess County
Daviess County’s unemployment rate for September was once again among the lowest seen in the entire state. The rate — 2.3% — ranked 85th highest in Indiana. The rate is down 0.3 percentage points from August and down 0.8 percentage points from September 2020. Daviess County’s jobless rate for April 2020 was 8.4%.
With a labor force of 16,379 people, Daviess County had 369 unemployed residents for September. The labor force is down 103 people from August and down 52 residents from September 2020.
Dubois County
Dubois County tied Daviess County and reported a jobless rate of 2.3%, which ranks 87th highest. The rate is down from 0.4 percentage points for August and is down 1.5 percentage points from September 2020. Dubois County’s unemployment rate stood at 10.6% for April 2020.
Out of 21,550 people in the county’s labor force for September, 493 were unemployed. The labor force is down 579 people from August and down 898 people from September 2020.
Greene County
The September unemployment rate for Greene County was 3.3%, which ranked 31st highest out of Indiana’s 92 counties. The rate is down 0.6 percentage points from August and down 1.7 percentage points from September 2020. Greene County’s jobless rate for April 2020 was 12.8%.
Of a labor force of 13,464 residents for September, 449 people were unemployed. The labor force is up 133 residents from August but down 87 people from September 2020.
Lawrence County
Lawrence County’s September jobless rate came in at 3.4%, ranking 29th highest among Hoosier counties. The rate is down 0.6 percentage points from August and down two percentage points from September 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 2020.
Out of a labor force of 20,303 residents for September, 690 of those people were unemployed. The labor force is down 361 people from August and down 999 people from September 2020.
Martin County
Martin County saw an unemployment rate of 2.4% for September, which ranked 82nd highest in Indiana. The rate is down 0.4 percentage points from August and down 1.1 percentage points from September 2020. Martin County’s jobless rate for April 2020 was 8.8%.
Out of 5,385 people in the labor force for September, there were 129 unemployed residents. The labor force is up 15 residents from August and up 38 people from September 2020.
Orange County
While still making progress on unemployment, Orange County, with its many tourist-focused businesses, again registered one of the state’s higher jobless rates for September. The figure came in at 4.6%, ranking sixth highest in Indiana. The rate is down 0.3 percentage points from August and down 2.3 percentage points from September 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 7,739 people for September, Orange County had 358 unemployed residents. Labor force participation is down 183 people from August and down 1,120 from September 2020.
Washington County
Washington County’s September unemployment rate was 2.9%, which ranked as 53rd highest in the state. The September rate is down 0.5 percentage points from August and down 2.2 percentage points from September 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 13,545 residents for September, 387 of those people were unemployed. The labor force is up 39 people from August and up 327 residents from September 2020.
State and nation
Indiana’s non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for September was 3.5%, and the national rate was 4.6%. Seasonally adjusted rates were 4.8% and 4%, respectively. (Seasonally adjusted numbers are not available below the state level.)
Continuing with non-seasonally adjusted numbers, the state’s September rate is down 0.5 percentage points from what was reported for August and down 2.3 percentage points from September 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 July 2020.
The United States’ September rate is down 0.7 percentage points from August and down 3.1 percentage points from September 2020. The rate was at 14.4% for April 2020 and remained in double digits for four months.
Out of Indiana’s September labor force of 3,327,038 residents, 115,552 of those people were unemployed. Indiana’s labor force is down 7,841 people from August and down 1,212 residents from September 2020. Indiana’s 63% labor force participation rate remains above the national rate of 61.6%.
Nationally, out of a labor force of 154,026,000 residents for September, 7,366,000 of them were unemployed. The country’s labor force is down 7,762,000 people from August and down 6,047,000 people from September 2020.
State employment by sector
Private sector employment has increased by 63,500 people over the year and decreased by 300 people over the previous month. The monthly decrease is primarily due to losses in the Construction (-1,400) and the Private Educational and Health Services (-700) sectors. Losses were offset by gains in the Manufacturing (1,400) and the Professional and Business Services (900) sectors. Total private employment stands at 2,650,700, which is 89,800 below the December 2019 peak.