Nine of 10 counties in the northeast Indiana region saw their seasonally adjusted unemployment rates drop in August, compared to July, according to an analysis of state unemployment figures by the Community Research Institute at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne.
And as a region, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is down by about 1 percent from a year ago, said John Stafford, CRI’s director.
That includes a backward adjustment of unemployment rates for the year-ago period that determined the unemployment rate then was about three-tenths of a percent higher.
“So it was worse than we thought,” Stafford said.
The highest seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the 10-county northeast Indiana region in August was in Noble County, which was at 12.5 percent. Seasonally adjusted rates in the other counties were: Steuben, 11.9; LaGrange, 11.6; DeKalb, 11.4; Huntington, 10.6; Allen, 10.4; Adams, 10.3; Wabash and Whitley, both 10; and Wells, 9.7.
The state’s seasonally adjusted rate for August was 10.2 percent; the unadjusted rate was 9.9 percent.
Analysts usually prefer to use adjusted rates because they take into account the normal, seasonal changes in the employment picture.
Employment in the three-county Fort Wayne metropolitan statistical area — Allen, Wells and Whitley counties — dropped by 1,858 jobs from a year ago. In the region outside the MSA, it rose by 6,000.
That may reflect advancements in some key sectors, such as the recreational vehicle industry.
“We may be seeing some improvements — some hiring, some new companies, some rebound,” Stafford said.
The Allen County labor force declined by 1,600 people from a year ago; outside Allen, the region’s labor force increased by 1,300 people.
According to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, which released statewide unemployment figures Tuesday, nonseasonally adjusted unemployment rates in Elkhart and Kosciusko counties were, respectively, 13.4 percent and 9.1 percent.
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