Unemployment dipped across most of Northwest Indiana in March, but Lake County continued to have the highest unemployment rate in the state.Â
Northwest Indiana counties had three of the seven highest unemployment rates statewide in February.
Lake County ranked first in joblessness statewide, Starke County fourth, LaPorte County seventh and Porter County 27th in March, according to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
The jobless rate slid in March to 5.5% across the Gary metropolitan area, which encompasses Lake, Porter, Newton and Jasper counties, according to the state. That’s down from 5.6% in February and up from 5.2% in March 2023.
In March, Lake County had the Hoosier Stateâs highest jobless rate at 6%, the same as the previous month and up from 5.6% in March 2023. The similarly blue-collar, manufacturing-heavy Howard County, the home of Kokomo and auto factories, took second place with 5.5% unemployment.
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LaPorte County ranked seventh highest of Indianaâs 92 counties at 5% unemployment in March, which was down from 5.2% in February and up from 4.7% at the same time a year ago, according to the Department of Workforce Development.
Porter Countyâs unemployment rate rose to 4.4% in March, down from 4.6% in February and up from 4.2% at the same point a year earlier.
Overall, Indianaâs seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stayed steady at 3.5% in March, the same as the previous month and up from 3.2% at the same time the previous year.
The nationâs unemployment rate was 3.8% in March, down from 3.9% the previous month and up from 3.5% 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 March, joblessness fell in Crown Point, Hobart, Michigan City and Portage. It rose in East Chicago, Gary, Hammond, Merrillville and Schererville and was unchanged in Valparaiso.
In the Calumet Region, Gary has the highest unemployment rate at 8.4%, followed by East Chicago at 7.9%, Merrillville at 6.7% and Hammond at 6.6%. Valparaiso has the lowest unemployment rate at 4.3%, followed by Schererville at 4.6% and Crown Point at 5.1%.
