Commercial Review
Jay County's jobless rate jumped in November, but the local picture remained one of the brightest in the region during a month that saw Indiana lose 12,800 jobs.
Preliminary labor force estimates from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development showed Jay County with a November unemployment rate of 6.7 percent, up from 6.1 percent in October. That jump mirrors the state's jobless rate, which rose to 6.8 percent in November from 6.0 percent in October.
While those numbers are in keeping with national trends, they are dramatically higher than one year ago. Compared to the same month a year ago, the Jay jobless rate has nearly doubled. It was 3.9 percent in November of 2007.
In East Central Indiana, only Wells County posted a better unemployment rate than Jay County at 6.5 percent.
The highest unemployment in the region was in Adams County, which has seen huge layoffs in the recreational vehicle industry. Adams County's jobless rate in November was 9.6 percent, up from 7.1 percent in October and 4 percent a year ago. Grant County, facing the prospect of more layoffs at General Motors, had a November jobless rate of 8.3 percent, up from 7.3 percent in October and 5.1 percent a year ago.
Randolph County saw a significant jump in unemployment, with a November jobless rate of 8.0 percent, compared with 6.6 percent in October. In November of 2007, the rate was 5 percent.
Blackford County posted a jobless rate of 7.9 percent, up slightly from 7.7 percent in October. The Blackford rate was 5 percent in November 2007.
Delaware County had a jobless rate of 7.3 percent in November, up from 6.5 percent in October and 4.6 percent a year ago.