Unemployment fell across Northwest Indiana in December.
Lake County ranked second in joblessness statewide, Starke fifth, LaPorte County seventh and Porter County 18th in December, according to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
The jobless rate fell to 4.2% across the Gary metropolitan area, which encompasses Lake, Porter, Newton and Jasper counties, according to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. That’s down from 4.5% in November and up from 3.9% in December 2022.
In December, Lake County had the Hoosier State’s second-highest jobless rate at 4.7%, down from 5% the previous month and up from 4.3% in December 2022. The similarly blue-collar, manufacturing-heavy Howard County, the home of Kokomo and auto manufacturing, took the top spot with 6.4% unemployment.
LaPorte County ranked seventh highest of Indiana’s 92 counties at 3.6% unemployment in December, which was down from 4% in November and up from 3.4% at the same time a year ago, according to the Department of Workforce Development.
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Porter County’s unemployment rate declined to 3.2% in December, down from 3.7% in November and up from 3.1% at the same point a year earlier.
Overall, Indiana’s seasonally adjusted unemployment dipped to 3.6% in December, down from 3.7% the previous month and up 3.1% at the same time the previous year.
The nation’s unemployment rate rose to 3.7% in December, 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 1.1 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 December, joblessness fell in most communities in Northwest Indiana. It stayed steady at 4.1% in Michigan City.
In the Calumet Region, Gary has the highest unemployment rate at 7.5%, followed by East Chicago at 6.7%, Hammond at 5.3% and Merrillville at 5%. Valparaiso has the lowest unemployment rate at 3%, followed by Schererville at 3.4% and Crown Point at 3.9%.
