Unemployment in Bartholomew County ticked up slightly in February for the second consecutive month as state and national jobless rates fell, the Indiana Department of Workforce Development announced Monday.
In February, Bartholomew County’s unemployment rate was 3.9%, up slightly from a revised 3.8% in January and 3.6% in December, state records show. In February 2020, unemployment stood at 2.5%.
By comparison, U.S. unemployment was 6.2% in February, down from 6.3% the month before, and Indiana’s jobless rate fell to 4% in February, down from 4.2% in December.
However, unemployment is considerably lower than in April, when Bartholomew County’s jobless rate was 17.2% and Indiana’s rate was 17.5%.
Additionally, Bartholomew County workers are continuing to file for jobless benefits at higher rates than before the pandemic, according to state records.
An average of 29 workers in Bartholomew County filed initial unemployment claims from 2015 to 2019, and the total number of workers drawing unemployment benefits never exceeded 398 during any week over the same time period.
A total of 202 Bartholomew County workers filed initial unemployment claims the week ending March 20, up from 170 the week before and 116 the week ending March 6, according to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
Overall, a revised 536 workers in Bartholomew County were drawing unemployment benefits the week ending Feb. 27, the most recent on record, which was down from a revised 565 the week before.
The announcement from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development came days after federal officials announced that the number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell sharply last week to 684,000, the fewest since the pandemic erupted a year ago, The Associated Press reported.
Last week’s report from the Labor Department showed that jobless claims fell from 781,000 the week before, according to wire reports.
It was the first time that weekly applications for jobless aid have fallen below 700,000 since mid-March of 2020. Before the pandemic tore through the economy, applications had never topped that level.
The number of people seeking benefits under a federal program for self-employed and contract workers also dropped, to 241,000, from 284,000 a week earlier, according to wire reports. All told, the number of applicants fell below 1 million for the first time since the pandemic.
Economists are growing more optimistic that the pace of layoffs, which has been chronically high for a full year, is finally easing.
