Unemployment rose across most of Northwest Indiana in May but Lake County fell to the third highest unemployment rate statewide, the first time in years it has not had the first or second highest jobless rate in the state.
Northwest Indiana counties still had three of the 11 highest unemployment rates statewide in May.
Lake County ranked third in joblessness statewide, Starke County ninth, LaPorte County 11th and Porter County 24th in May, according to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
The jobless rate rose in May to 5% across the Gary metropolitan area, which encompasses Lake, Porter, Newton and Jasper counties, according to the state. That’s up from 4.6% in April and up from 4.4% in May 2023.
In May, Lake County had the Hoosier Stateâs third highest jobless rate at 5.4%, up from 5% the previous month and up from 4.8% in May 2023. The similarly blue-collar, manufacturing-heavy Howard County, the home of Kokomo and auto factories, claimed first place statewide with 5.7% unemployment. Fayette County in East Central Indiana came in second.
People are also reading…
LaPorte County ranked 11th highest of Indianaâs 92 counties at 4.4% unemployment in May, which was up from 4.1% in April and up from 3.9% at the same time a year ago, according to the Department of Workforce Development.
Porter Countyâs unemployment rate rose to 4.2% in May, up from 3.7% in April and up from 3.6% at the same point a year earlier.
Overall, Indianaâs seasonally adjusted unemployment rate ticked up to 3.7% in May, up from 3.6% the previous month and up from 3.2% at the same time the previous year.
The nationâs unemployment rate was 4% in May, up from 3.9% the previous month and up from 3.7% at the same point a year earlier, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Unemployment climbed as high as 12% in Northwest Indiana during the depths of the Great Recession in the late 2000s, but it had been significantly higher in Northwest Indiana during the pandemic following stay-at-home orders meant to stop the spread of a virus that has killed more than 1.2 million Americans and more than 7 million people around the globe. More than one out of 10 Region residents on average were out of work for months.
In May, joblessness fell in every Northwest Indiana community where it’s tracked.
In the Calumet Region, Gary has the highest unemployment rate at 8.3%, followed by East Chicago at 7.9%, Merrillville at 6% and Hammond at 6%. Unemployment rose by 1.1 percentage points in East Chicago and 0.9 percentage points in Gary last month.
Valparaiso and Schererville have the lowest unemployment rate at 4%, followed by Crown Point at 4.7%.
