By Annie Goeller, Daily Journal of Johnson County staff writer
Johnson County's unemployment rate reached another record high in January, jumping to 7.6 percent.
As of January, 5,530 local workers were out of a job, an increase of nearly 1,000 from the count in December. The December jobless rate was 6.2 percent.
The rate was nearly double Johnson County's unemployment rate a year ago. The rate was 4 percent in January 2008.
In Greenwood, where more than 1,900 workers were unemployed as of January, the unemployment rate also jumped more than a percentage point, reaching 7.5 percent in January from 6.3 percent in December.
Across the state, counties and cities reported increases, with some areas reaching an unemployment rate of nearly 20 percent.
Statewide, the rate increased to 9.2 percent, from 8.1 percent in December.
Among central Indiana counties, Johnson County's rate was nearly in the middle, but was nearing the rate of 8.4 percent in Marion County.
Johnson County was higher than Hamilton and Hendricks counties, with rates of 6 and 7 percent, respectively. But three other counties, Hancock, Morgan and Shelby, had higher rates from 8 to 10.5 percent.