By Marilyn Odendahl, Truth Staff
modendahl@etruth.com
After occupying the top slot on the state's unemployment ranking, Elkhart County slipped to the No. 2 position in March.
However, the county's jobless rate still climbed last month after a small decline in February. According to figures released today from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, Elkhart County had an unemployment rate of 18.8 percent in March, compared to 18.0 percent the month before.
LaGrange County has the state's highest unemployment at 18.9 percent. That county's jobless figure jumped more than 1 percentage point in one month's time, rising from 17.7 percent in February.
Across the country, joblessness closed in on double digits with the March rate at 9.0 percent. Indiana's rate increased slightly to 10.6 percent.
Meanwhile, the cities of Elkhart and Goshen remain unchanged as the two municipalities with the first and second highest unemployment rates in Indiana.
The unemployment continued climbing in the city of Elkhart and reached 20.7 percent in March. Goshen followed at 18.6 percent, up from 18.1 percent in February.