Unemployment rose across most of Northwest Indiana in February, as Lake County continued to have the highest unemployment rate in the state.Â
Northwest Indiana counties had three of the five highest unemployment rates statewide in February.
Lake County ranked first in joblessness statewide, Starke County third, LaPorte County fifth and Porter County 23rd in February, according to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
The jobless rate rose in February to 5.6% across the Gary metropolitan area, which encompasses Lake, Porter, Newton and Jasper counties, according to the state. That’s up from 5.3% in January and up from 5.3% in February 2023.
In February, Lake County had the Hoosier Stateâs highest jobless rate at 6%, up from 5.7% the previous month and up from 5.7% in February 2023. The similarly blue-collar, manufacturing-heavy Howard County, the home of Kokomo and auto factories, took second place with 5.8% unemployment.
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LaPorte County ranked fifth highest of Indianaâs 92 counties at 5.2% unemployment in February, which was up from 5% in January and up from 5% at the same time a year ago, according to the Department of Workforce Development.
Porter Countyâs unemployment rate rose to 4.6% in February, up from 4.3% in January and up from 4.4% at the same point a year earlier.
Overall, Indianaâs seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stayed steady at 3.5% in February, up from 3.2% at the same time the previous year.
The nationâs unemployment rate was 4.2% in February, up from 4.1% the previous month and up from 3.9% 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 1.1 million Americans and more than 6.9 million people around the globe. More than one out of 10 Region residents on average were out of work for months.
In February, joblessness rose in almost every community in Northwest Indiana where it’s tracked. It stated steady in Schererville at 4.5% and declined in Hammond, falling from 6.6% in January to 6.4% in February.
In the Calumet Region, Gary has the highest unemployment rate at 8.2%, followed by East Chicago at 7.8%, Hammond at 6.4% and Merrillville at 6.3%. Valparaiso has the lowest unemployment rate at 4.3%, followed by Schererville at 4.5% and Crown Point at 5.5%.
