Unemployment in Bartholomew County increased in May but remained among the lowest in Indiana as possible signs emerge nationally that the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes may be taking effect.
The unemployment rate in Bartholomew County stood at 3% in May, up from 2.2% in May 2022 and tied with several counties for the fourth lowest rate in the state, according to figures released this week by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
The U.S. jobless rate was 3.7% in May, compared to 3.6% a year earlier. Statewide, unemployment in Indiana was 3.1% in May, up from 2.9 in May 2022.
In Jackson County, unemployment stood at 3.1% last month, up from 2.6% in May 2022, while the jobless rate in Jennings County was 3.4% in May, up from 3.1% a year earlier.
The update from state officials comes as the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits remained elevated the week ending June 10, a possible sign that the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes over the past year may be taking hold in what’s proved to be a resilient job market, The Associated Press reported.
U.S. applications for jobless claims were 262,000 for the week ending June 10, the Labor Department reported last week, more than analysts were expecting. This week’s number mirrors last week’s, which was revised up by 1,000. The claims numbers for the past two weeks are the highest since October 2021.
The four-week moving average of claims, which flattens some of the week-to-week fluctuations, rose by more than 9,000 to 246,750, according to wire reports. That’s the highest level since November of 2021.
In Bartholomew County, 16 workers applied for jobless benefits the week ending June 10, down slightly from 19 the week before, according to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. A total of 108 workers in Bartholomew County were drawing unemployment benefits the week ending June 3, essentially unchanged from a week earlier, according to the latest figures available.
U.S. employers have added jobs at a furious rate since more than 20 million jobs disappeared during the pandemic purge in the spring of 2020, according to wire reports. Americans have enjoyed unusual job security, despite the Federal Reserve’s aggressive campaign to cool the economy and labor market in its bid to stifle persistently elevated inflation not seen since the early 1980s.
Last week, Fed officials chose not to increase the benchmark borrowing rate for the first time in 15 months, though some said they expect to add another half-point to rates by the end of the year.
The rate hikes have slowly helped to tamp down inflation, though not as quickly as hoped. The labor market has remained unusually strong throughout the more than yearlong rate hike campaign designed to cool it.
U.S. employers added a robust 339,000 jobs last month, well above expectations, painting a mostly encouraging picture of the job market, even as the unemployment rate rose to 3.7%. In April, employers posted 10.1 million job openings, up from 9.7 million in March and the most since January. Economists had expected vacancies to decline.
There are other signs that the Fed’s policies are taking hold, according to wire reports. The U.S. economy grew at a lackluster 1.3% annual rate from January through March as businesses wary of an economic slowdown trimmed their inventories. That’s a slight upgrade from its initial growth estimate of 1.1%.
The manufacturing sector has been contracting and three bank failures have been blamed in part on higher interest rates.
Though the labor market remains strong, there have been a number high-profile layoffs recently, mostly in the technology sector, where many companies say they overhired during the pandemic, according to the AP. IBM, Microsoft, Salesforce, Twitter, Lyft, LinkedIn, Spotify and DoorDash have all announced layoffs in recent months. Amazon and Facebook parent Meta have each announced two sets of job cuts since November.
Outside the tech sector, McDonald’s, Morgan Stanley and 3M have also recently announced layoffs.
Overall, 1.78 million people were collecting unemployment benefits the week that ended June 3, about 20,000 more than the previous week.
