Unemployment rose again across Northwest Indiana in November.
Lake County ranked second in joblessness statewide, LaPorte County fourth and Porter County 18th, according to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
The jobless rate rose 0.3 percentage points to 4.1% in November across the Gary metropolitan area, which encompasses Lake, Porter, Newton and Jasper counties. The unemployment rate in the Gary metro area was 3.8% the previous month and 3.3% in November 2021.
In November, Lake County had the Hoosier Stateâs second-highest jobless rate at 4.5%, up from 4.1% from the previous month and 3.8% during November of 2021. Howard County, where the similarly blue-collar manufacturing town of Kokomo is located, again took the top spot in the Hoosier State with 4.8%.
LaPorte County ranked fourth highest of Indianaâs 92 counties at 3.6% unemployment in November, which was up from 3.5% in October, and up from 3% at the same time a year ago, according to the Department of Workforce Development.
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Porter Countyâs unemployment climbed to 3.1% in November, up from 3% in October, and from 2.3% at the same as at the same point a year earlier.
Overall, Indianaâs seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stayed steady at 3% in November, up from 2.7% at the same time the previous year. The U.S. unemployment rate stayed steady at 3.7% in November, down from 4.2% 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 nearly 6.6 million people around the globe. More than one out of 10 Region residents on average were out of work for months.
In November, joblessness rose all across Northwest Indiana except in Michigan City, where it stayed steady compared to the previous month. It increased by 0.9 percentage points in Gary, 0.8 percentage points in East Chicago and Schererville and 0.3 percentage points in Crown Point.
Unemployment increased by 0.2 percentage points in Hammond, Hobart, Merrillville and Portage.
In the Calumet Region, Gary has the highest unemployment rate at 8%, followed by East Chicago at 6.5% and Merrillville at 5.2%. Valparaiso has the lowest at 3%, followed by Crown Point at 3.8% and Schererville at 3.9%.
