Unemployment in Bartholomew County increased in February, while the labor force shrunk, according to figures released Monday by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
The jobless rate in Bartholomew County was 3.7% in February, up from 3.1% in February 2023, the figures show. Additionally, the county’s labor force declined from 43,918 to 43,159 over the same period.
By comparison, U.S. employment was a seasonally adjusted 3.9% last month, up from 3.6% in February 2023. Indiana’s jobless rate stood at a seasonally adjusted 3.5%, compared to 3.2% a year earlier.
Indiana’s labor force also fell from around 3.38 million in February 2023 to 3.35 million last month, while the U.S. labor force grew from about 166.18 million to around 167.29 million over the same period.
In Jackson County, unemployment ticked up from 3.2% in February 2023 to 3.4% last month, while the jobless rate in Jennings County rose from 4.3% to 4.7% over the same period.
The county-level unemployment figures are not seasonally adjusted. Without seasonal adjustments, the national and state unemployment rates were both 4.2% last month.
The update from state officials came days after the federal government reported that the number of Americans signing up for unemployment benefits fell slightly two weeks ago, another sign that the labor market remains strong and most workers enjoy extraordinary job security, according to The Associated Press.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims dipped by 2,000 to 210,000. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week ups and downs, rose by 2,500 to 211,250.
Overall, 1.8 million Americans were collecting unemployment benefits the week that ended March 9, up a modest 4,000 from the week before.
Applications for unemployment benefits are viewed as a proxy for layoffs and a sign of where the job market is headed, according to wire reports. Despite high-profile job cuts at tech companies such as Google parent Alphabet, eBay and Cisco Systems, overall layoffs remain below pre-pandemic levels. The unemployment rate has come in under 4% for 25 straight months, the longest such streak since the 1960s.
In Bartholomew County, 10 workers filed initial jobless claims the week ending March 16, down from 30 the week before, according to the most recent data from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
Overall, 220 local workers were drawing unemployment benefits the week ending March 9, down from the week ending March 2.
The economy and the job market, supported by consumer spending, have proven resilient even though the Federal Reserve raised interest rates 11 times in 2022 and 2023 in an effort to combat inflation that flared up in 2021, according to the AP. Inflation has come down from a four-decade high 9.1% in June 2022 to 3.2% in February — but remains above the central bank’s 2% target.
Hiring has slowed from the breakneck pace of three years ago but remains strong: Employers added a record 604,000 jobs a month in 2021, 377,000 in 2022 and 251,000 last year. In February, job creation rose unexpectedly to 275,000.
The combination of easing inflation and a sturdy economy has raised hopes that the Fed can manage a so-called soft landing and tame price increases without tipping the economy into a recession, according to wire reports. On Wednesday, the Fed signaled that it still expects to reverse policy and cut rates three times this year — a sign of confidence in the progress being made against inflation.
