By Miles Flynn | Southern Indiana Business Report
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana’s unemployment rate is at a record low that dates back to 1976, according to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. The seasonally adjusted figure fell from 3% in November to 2.7% in December. The rate had been at 4% for December 2020 and 3% for pre-COVID December 2019.
“With a 2.7% unemployment rate and more than 150,000 job postings statewide, there are now more employment and economic opportunities available than there have been in several decades,” DWD Commissioner Fred Payne said. “We will continue to offer Hoosier job seekers the proper skills training to secure the job of their choice, and Hoosier employers the tools to find workers to fit their needs.”
By comparison, the seasonally adjusted national unemployment rate dropped from 4.2% in November to 3.9% in December. The rate had been 6.5% in December 2020 and 3.4% in pre-COVID December 2019.
Non-seasonally adjusted numbers for December are 1.3% for Indiana and 3.7% nationally. Seasonally adjusted numbers aren’t available below the state level. All eight counties in the local area also saw decreases in unemployment from November and from December 2020. However, labor force participation rate changes around the region varied widely by county.
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 December unemployment rate was 1.4%, which ranked 18th highest among Indiana’s 92 counties. The rate is down from the November preliminary figure by 0.7 percentage points and down 2.9 points from December 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 4,690 people for December, 65 residents were unemployed. The labor force is down 64 people from November and down 142 residents from December 2020.
Daviess County
Daviess County’s unemployment rate for December was once again among the lowest seen around the Hoosier state. The rate — just 0.8% — ranked 88th highest in Indiana. The rate is down 0.6 percentage points from November and down 1.6 percentage points from December 2020. To review, Daviess County’s jobless rate for April 2020 was 8.4%.
With a labor force of 16,486 people, Daviess County had 140 unemployed residents for December. The labor force is up 79 people from November but down 325 residents from December 2020.
Dubois County
Dubois County’s jobless rate for December was even with what was seen just up the road at Daviess County, coming in at 0.8%. The figure ranks 89th highest in the state. The rate is down 0.5 percentage points for November and is down 2.2 percentage points from December 2020. Dubois County’s unemployment rate stood at 10.6% for April 2020.
Out of 21,954 people in the county’s labor force for December, 170 were unemployed. The labor force is up 101 people from November but down 700 people from December 2020.
Greene County
The December unemployment rate for Greene County was 1.4%, which ranked 20th highest out of Indiana’s 92 counties. The rate is down 0.7 percentage points from November and down 2.4 percentage points from December 2020. Greene County’s jobless rate for April 2020 was 12.8%.
Of a labor force of 13,305 residents for December, 181 people were unemployed. The labor force is down 135 residents from November but up 36 people from December 2020.
Lawrence County
Lawrence County’s December jobless rate came in at 1.3%, ranking 33rd highest among Hoosier counties. The rate is down 0.7 percentage points from November and down 2.8 percentage points from December 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 20,360 residents for December, 269 of those people were unemployed. The labor force is down 348 people from November and down 214 people from December 2020.
Martin County
Martin County saw an unemployment rate of just 0.9% for December, which ranked 81st highest in Indiana. The rate is down 0.6 percentage points from November and down two percentage points from December 2020. Martin County’s jobless rate for April 2020 was 8.8%.
Out of 5,351 people in the labor force for December, there were 49 unemployed residents. The labor force is up four residents from November but down 144 people from December 2020.
Orange County
Despite some additional progress on the jobless front in December, Orange County, with its many tourist-focused businesses, again registered one of the higher unemployment rates seen around the state in the report for the period. The figure came in at 1.6%, ranking eighth highest in Indiana. The rate is down one percentage point from November and down four percentage points from December 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 8,204 people for December, Orange County had 130 unemployed residents. Labor force participation is up 41 people from November and up 692 people from December 2020.
Washington County
Washington County’s December unemployment rate was 1.1%, which ranked as 53rd highest in the state. The rate is down 0.7 percentage points from November and down 2.5 percentage points from December 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 13,421 residents for December, 149 of those people were unemployed. The labor force is up three people from November but down 281 residents from December 2020.
More on state and national numbers
Out of Indiana’s December labor force of 3,277,064 residents, 43,014 of those people were unemployed. Indiana’s labor force is down 34,819 people from November and down 93,276 residents from December 2020. The state’s labor force participation rate of 62.4% remains above the national rate of 61.9%.
Nationally, out of a labor force of 161,696,000 residents for December, 5,964,000 of them were unemployed. The country’s labor force is down 403,000 people from November but up 1,679,000 people from December 2020.
State employment by sector
The monthly increase in jobs in Indiana can primarily be attributed to Construction (+3,000); Leisure and Hospitality (+2,300); Professional & Business Services (+2,000); Private Education & Health Services (+1,900); and Trade, Transportation & Utilities (+1,600).