By DAVE SCHULTZ
Indiana’s overall unemployment rate remained in very low territory, with a May preliminary statewide unemployment rate of 2.2 percent.
That’s according to numbers released this month by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
That report also places Wells County’s preliminary unemployment rate for May at 1.9 percent.
The numbers for the Fort Wayne Metropolitan Statistical area, which includes Wells County, are nearly the same as the state’s (2.3 percent as opposed to the state’s 2.2). However, as Rachel Blakeman, director of the Purdue University Fort Wayne Community Research Institute points out, it’s considerably different than the situation was in May of 2021. Then it was 3.9 percent and in 2022 it’s 2.3 percent — with a 39 percent reduction in unemployed workers.
In fact, Blakeman notes, the DWD’s report says that all of the 11 counties in Economic Growth Region 3 (Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Grant, Huntington, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, Wabash, Wells and Whitley counties) experienced a decrease in unemployed workers.
The Fort Wayne metro area (Allen, Whitley, and Wells) experienced a 2.2 percent increase in its labor force and a 3.9 percent increase in the number of employed workers — and, as noted, the 39 percent decrease in unemployed workers.
“All of this labor market information long predates the recent interest rate spike by the Federal Reserve that has some economists concerned about the potential for a recession,” Blakeman said. “This monthly labor market information is very important in telling us what is happening in the local economy, but it is considered to be a lagging indicator that only tells us after the fact what has occurred with little to no predictive quality on what lies ahead.”
Around the area, LaGrange County had the state’s lowest unemployment rate of 1.7 percent, tying Boone County with that number. The unemployment rates for other nearby counties were Adams and Steuben, 1.8 percent; DeKalb and Whitley, 2 percent; Huntington, 2.1; Wabash, 2.2; Allen, Jay, and Noble, 2.4; Grant, 2.6; and Blackford, 2.8. The county with the state’s highest unemployment rate was Lake at 4.2, followed by Howard at 4.1.
Quoting the DWD report, Indiana’s labor force participation rate rose again in May, from 62.6 percent in April to 62.9 percent in May, remaining above the national rate of 62.3 percent. Indiana’s total labor force, which includes both Hoosiers employed and those seeking employment, stands at 3,364,365 — an increase of 16,374 from the previous month.
“While the number of people working in the private sector is at a new high, there remains numerous available job opportunities throughout Indiana,” DWD Commissioner Fred Payne said.
“More and more Hoosiers have spent the last several months reassessing their career and career goals, and the May employment report shows individuals continue to return to the workplace.”
daves@news-banner.com
