County by county unemployment numbers for the first month of 2017 are out and for the first time in a number of months Dubois County has lost it’s grip on the top spot as far as counties with the lowest unemployment.
The Indiana Department of Workforce Development said Tuesday the county’s January rate came in at 3 and a half percent and is in a three way tie with Bartholomew and LaGrange counties, 2 tenths of a percent behind new leader Hamilton County.
Statewide, Indiana’s rate remained steady at 4 percent in January despite a small jump in people seeking jobs.
Indiana’s jobless mark remained the same as December’s rate and was at least a percentage point lower than any of the surrounding states.
The agency says Indiana’s workforce grew slightly for January to more than 3.3 million people. Federal figures show about 133,000 people were looking for jobs in Indiana that month.
Not locally as we said Dubois County has been knocked out of the top spot as far as counties with the lowest unemployment.
Dubois is now in a three-way tie for third lowest at 3 and a half percent. Daviess is not far behind at 3.8 percent, Martin is at 4.3 percent, Warrick 4.4, Pike 4 and a half percent.
Spencer is at an even 5 percent, Perry 5.1 percent. Orange is at 5 percent and Crawford County’s January unemployment rate came in at 6.9 percent (fourth highest in the state).
Vermillion County north of Terre Haute had the state’s highest unemployment mark in January at 7.4 percent.
Indiana’s jobless rate is at its lowest point since 2001 and is lower than the national rate of 4.8 percent for January.
