By Miles Flynn | Southern Indiana Business Report
INDIANAPOLIS — Although jobless rates showed little change in the Indiana Department of Workforce Development’s report for May, labor force participation rates continue to indicate progress.
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 May unemployment rate was 3.9%, which ranked 38th highest among Indiana’s 92 counties. The rate is down 0.2 percentage points from the April preliminary figure and down 6.9 points from May 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 4,861 people for May, 191 residents were unemployed. The labor force is up 91 people from April and up 204 residents from May 2020.
Daviess County
Daviess County’s unemployment rate again came in as one of the lowest in the state. The May rate, 2.9%, ranked 86th highest in Indiana. The May rate is up 0.4 percentage points from April and down 2.7 percentage points from May 2020. Daviess County’s jobless rate for April 2020 was 8.4%.
With a labor force of 16,966 people, Daviess County had 484 unemployed residents for May. The labor force is up 401 people from April and up 921 residents from May 2020.
Dubois County
Dubois County’s jobless rate for May was 2.8%, which ranks 87th highest out of Indiana’s 92 counties. The May rate is unchanged from April and is down 2.9 percentage points from May 2020. Dubois County’s unemployment rate stood at 10.6% for April 2020.
Out of 23,623 people in the county’s labor force for May, 668 were unemployed. The labor force is up 439 people from April and up 1,603 people from May 2020.
Greene County
The May unemployment rate for Greene County was 4.2%, which ranked 26th out of Indiana’s 92 counties. The May rate is unchanged from April and down 4.8 percentage points from May 2020. Greene County’s jobless rate for April 2020 was 12.8%.
Of a labor force of 13,485 residents for May, 565 people were unemployed. The labor force is up 138 residents from April and up 207 residents from May 2020.
Lawrence County
Lawrence County’s May jobless rate came in at 4.1%, ranking 29th highest among Hoosier counties. The May rate is up 0.1 percentage points from April and down 7.2 percentage points from May 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 21,011 residents for May, 857 of those people were unemployed. The labor force is up 138 people from April but down 121 people from May 2020.
Martin County
Martin County saw a May unemployment rate of 3.0%, which ranked 85th highest in Indiana. The May rate is up 0.1 percentage points from April and down 2.9 percentage points from May 2020. Martin County’s jobless rate for April 2020 was 8.8%.
Out of 5,435 people in the labor force for May, there were 161 unemployed residents. The labor force is up 153 residents from April and up 277 from May 2020.
Orange County
Orange County, with its heavy dependence on tourism, again registered one of the higher unemployment rates in the state for May. The figure came in at 4.8%, ranking 14th highest in Indiana. The May rate is unchanged from April but is down 13.7 percentage points from May 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 8,868 people for May, Orange County had 423 unemployed residents. The labor force is up 246 people from April but down 560 people from May 2020.
Washington County
Washington County’s May unemployment rate was 3.8%, which ranked as 47th highest in the state. The May rate is unchanged from April but is down 9.5 percentage points from May 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 13,580 residents for May, 521 of those people were unemployed. The labor force is up 367 people from April and up 441 residents from May 2020.
State and nation
Indiana’s non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for May was 4.5%, and the national rate was 5.5%. Seasonally adjusted rates were 4.0% and 5.8%, respectively. (Seasonally adjusted numbers are not available below the state level.)
Continuing with non-seasonally adjusted numbers, the state’s May rate is up 0.3 percentage points from what was reported for April and down 7.4 percentage points from May 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.
The United States’ May rate is down 0.2 percentage points from April and down 7.5 percentage points from May 2020. The rate was at 14.4% for April 2020 and remained in double digits for four months.
Out of Indiana’s May labor force of 3,364,236 residents, 150,077 of those people were unemployed. Indiana’s labor force had a net increase of 6,370 over the previous month. This was a result of an increase of 3,292 unemployed residents and an increase of 3,078 employed residents.
Indiana’s total labor force, which includes both Hoosiers employed and those seeking employment, stands at 3.34 million, and the state’s 63.2% labor force participation rate remains above the national rate of 61.6%.
Nationally, out of a labor force of 160,607,000 residents for May, 8,829,000 of them were unemployed. The country’s labor force is up 228,000 people from April and up 2,632,000 people from May 2020.
State employment by sector
Private sector employment has increased by 234,800 over the year and decreased by 2,700 over the previous month. The monthly decrease is primarily due to losses in the Manufacturing (-3,600) and the Trade, Transportation and Utilities (-700) sectors. Losses were offset by gains in the Leisure and Hospitality (1,900) and the Construction (400) sectors. Total private employment stands at 2,620,800, which is 119,700 below the December 2019 peak.