(INDIANAPOLIS) - Northeast Indiana counties remained below Indiana’s statewide unemployment rate in May, even as local jobless rates increased from April.
Indiana’s preliminary, non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.2 percent in May. That was up from 2.8 percent in April, but below the 3.6 percent rate reported in May of last year.
Among area counties, LaGrange County posted the lowest May unemployment rate at 2.8 percent. DeKalb County was at 2.9 percent. Allen County was at 3.0 percent. Steuben and Noble counties were both at 3.1 percent.
Local County Numbers
Steuben County: 3.1 percent unemployment in May. The county had 17,324 people in the labor force, with 16,788 employed and 536 unemployed. Steuben County was at 2.6 percent in April and 3.7 percent in May of last year.
DeKalb County: 2.9 percent unemployment in May. The county had 22,428 people in the labor force, with 21,784 employed and 644 unemployed. DeKalb County was at 2.3 percent in April and 3.4 percent in May of last year.
LaGrange County: 2.8 percent unemployment in May. The county had 18,982 people in the labor force, with 18,446 employed and 536 unemployed. LaGrange County was at 2.3 percent in April and 3.2 percent in May of last year.
Noble County: 3.1 percent unemployment in May. The county had 22,476 people in the labor force, with 21,775 employed and 701 unemployed. Noble County was at 2.5 percent in April and 3.4 percent in May of last year.
Allen County: 3.0 percent unemployment in May. The county had 205,603 people in the labor force, with 199,450 employed and 6,153 unemployed. Allen County was at 2.5 percent in April and 3.4 percent in May of last year.
Statewide Numbers
Statewide, Indiana had a May labor force of 3,516,430 people. Of those, 3,403,025 were employed and 113,405 were unemployed.
Indiana’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.3 percent in May. That was unchanged from April and down from 3.7 percent in May of last year.
Seasonally adjusted employment figures show Indiana added 3,600 total nonfarm jobs from April to May, while remaining 10,600 jobs below May of last year.
Total private employment was up 3,800 jobs for the month and up 3,100 from a year earlier.
Fort Wayne Metro Area
The Fort Wayne metropolitan area reported 241,900 nonfarm jobs in May.
That was up 2,200 from April and up 1,100 from May of last year.
The largest monthly gains in the Fort Wayne area were in leisure and hospitality, mining, logging and construction, and professional and business services.