By Miles Flynn | Southern Indiana Business Report
INDIANAPOLIS — Jobless rates were predominantly lower across the region during October, according to Indiana Department of Workforce Development reports, and for the most part, labor participation rates also showed at least some improvement.
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 October unemployment rate was 2.5%, which ranked 26th highest among Indiana’s 92 counties. The rate is down from the September preliminary figure by 0.9 percentage points and down 1.9 points from October 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 4,782 people for October, 118 residents were unemployed. The labor force is down 73 people from September but up 48 residents from October 2020.
Daviess County
Daviess County’s unemployment rate for October was once again among the lowest seen in the entire state. The rate — 1.7% — ranked 85th highest in Indiana. The rate is down 0.6 percentage points from September and down one percentage point from October 2020. To review, Daviess County’s jobless rate for April 2020 was 8.4%.
With a labor force of 16,614 people, Daviess County had 290 unemployed residents for October. The labor force is up 235 people from September and up 129 residents from October 2020.
Dubois County
Dubois County’s jobless rate for October was 1.6%, which ranks 89th highest. The rate is down 0.7 percentage points for September and is down 1.7 percentage points from October 2020. Dubois County’s unemployment rate stood at 10.6% for April 2020.
Out of 22,057 people in the county’s labor force for October, 360 were unemployed. The labor force is up 507 people from September but down 208 people from October 2020.
Greene County
The October unemployment rate for Greene County was 2.6%, which ranked 20th highest out of Indiana’s 92 counties. The rate is down 0.7 percentage points from September and down 1.5 percentage points from October 2020. Greene County’s jobless rate for April 2020 was 12.8%.
Of a labor force of 13,574 residents for October, 350 people were unemployed. The labor force is up 110 residents from September and up 271 people from October 2020.
Lawrence County
Lawrence County’s October jobless rate came in at 2.4%, ranking 33rd highest among Hoosier counties. The rate is down one percentage point from September and down 2.3 percentage points from October 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 20,737 residents for October, 508 of those people were unemployed. The labor force is up 434 people from September and up 244 people from October 2020.
Martin County
Martin County saw an unemployment rate of 1.7% for October, which ranked 86th highest in Indiana. The rate is down 0.7 percentage points from September and down 1.5 percentage points from October 2020. Martin County’s jobless rate for April 2020 was 8.8%.
Out of 5,404 people in the labor force for October, there were 93 unemployed residents. The labor force is up 19 residents from September but down 21 people from October 2020.
Orange County
While still seeing progress on unemployment, Orange County, with its many tourist-focused businesses, again registered one of the higher jobless rates around the state in the report for October. The figure came in at three percent, ranking eighth highest in Indiana. The rate is down 1.6 percentage points from September and down 5.2 percentage points from October 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 8,255 people for October, Orange County had 249 unemployed residents. Labor force participation is up 516 people from September and up 751 from October 2020.
Washington County
Washington County’s October unemployment rate was 2.2%, which ranked as 45th highest in the state. The October rate is down 0.7 percentage points from September and down 2.1 percentage points from October 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 13,433 residents for October, 295 of those people were unemployed. The labor force is down 112 people from September and down 171 residents from October 2020.
State and nation
Indiana’s non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for October was 2.5%, and the national rate was 4.3%. Seasonally adjusted rates were 3.3% and 4.6%, respectively. (Seasonally adjusted numbers are not available below the state level.)
Continuing with non-seasonally adjusted numbers, the state’s October rate is down one percentage point from what was reported for September and down 2.3 percentage points from October 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’ October rate is down 0.3 percentage points from September and down 2.3 percentage points from October 2020. The rate was at 14.4% for April 2020 and remained in double digits for four months.
Out of Indiana’s October labor force of 3,313,120 residents, 82,954 of those people were unemployed. Indiana’s labor force is down 13,918 people from September and down 40,217 residents from October 2020. Indiana’s 62.7% labor force participation rate remains above the national rate of 61.6%.
Nationally, out of a labor force of 161,863,000 residents for October, 6,896,000 of them were unemployed. The country’s labor force is up 7,837,000 people from September and up 810,000 people from October 2020.
State employment by sector
Indiana private sector employment has increased by 66,000 over the year and increased by 14,600 over the previous month. The monthly increase is primarily due to gains in the Manufacturing (5,800) and the Trade, Transportation and Utilities (4,100) sectors. Gains were offset by losses in the Private Education and Health Services (-1,000) and the All Other, which includes Mining, Logging, Information, and other services except Public Administration, (-200) sectors. Total private employment stands at 2,670,500, which is 70,000 below the December 2019 peak.