Unemployment fell again across Northwest Indiana in October, but Lake County continued to have the highest employment rate in the state.
LaPorte County ranked sixth in joblessness statewide, Starke County 10th and Porter County 23rd in October, the most recent month for which data is available, according to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
The jobless rate fell to 4.3% 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 4.4% in September and up from 3.7% in October 2022.
In October, Lake County had the Hoosier State’s highest jobless rate at 4.7%, down from 4.8% the previous month and up from 4% in October 2022.
LaPorte County ranked sixth highest of Indiana’s 92 counties at 3.8% unemployment in October, which was down from 3.9% in September 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 fell to 3.4% in October, down from 3.5% in September and up from 3.1% at the same point a year earlier.
Overall, Indiana’s seasonally adjusted unemployment stayed steady at 3.6% in October, up from 3.2% at the same time the previous year.
The nation’s unemployment rate ticked up to 3.9% in October, up from 3.8% the previous month and 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 1.1 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 October, joblessness fell in most communities in Northwest Indiana but stayed steady in Merrillville and Portage and rose slightly in Hammond and Valparaiso.
In the Calumet Region, Gary has the highest unemployment rate at 8.3%, followed by East Chicago at 6.2%, and Merrillville and Hammond at 5.3%. Valparaiso has the lowest jobless rate at 3.4%, followed by Schererville at 3.5% and Crown Point at 3.7%.
