Bartholomew County’s unemployment rate increased in September but was still among the lowest in Indiana.
The jobless rate in Bartholomew County stood at 2.8% in September, up from 1.9% in September 2022 and tied for the sixth lowest unemployment rate in the state, according to figures released Monday by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
U.S. unemployment was 3.8% in September, up from 3.5% in September 2022. Statewide, unemployment in Indiana was 3.6%, up from 3.2% from a year earlier.
In Jackson County, the jobless rate stood at 2.8% last month, up from 2.2% in September 2022, while unemployment in Jennings County was 3.2%, up from 2.6% a year earlier.
The update from state officials comes after applications for U.S. unemployment benefits recently fell to their lowest level in eight months as businesses continue to retain workers despite elevated interest rates meant to cool the economy and labor market, The Associated Press reported.
Jobless claim applications fell by 13,000 to 198,000 for the week ending Oct. 14, the Labor Department reported last week. That’s the fewest since January and about 14,000 fewer than analysts expected.
Jobless claim applications are considered a proxy for layoffs.
Despite the low level of weekly first-time jobless benefit applications, the number of Americans remaining on the unemployment rolls — known as “continuing claims” — jumped to its highest level in three months.
Overall, 1.73 million people were collecting unemployment benefits the week that ended Oct. 7, about 29,000 more than the previous week and the most since early July, according to wire reports.
Analysts suggested one reason why new applications for unemployment aid might be falling while the number of people who continue to receive benefits is rising: Though relatively few people are being laid off, those who are already unemployed may now be having a harder time finding new work.
Though the Federal Reserve opted to leave its benchmark borrowing rate alone at its most recent meeting, it is well into the second year of its battle to rein in persistent inflation, according to the AP. The central bank has raised its benchmark rate 11 times since March of 2022, with part of its goal to cool hiring and bring down wages. But the labor market has held up better than expected.
In September, employers added 336,000 jobs, easily surpassing the 227,000 for August and raising the average gain for each of the past three months to a robust 266,000, according to wire reports.
In August, American employers posted a surprising 9.6 million job openings, up from 8.9 million in July and the first uptick in three months.
Besides some layoffs early this year — mostly in the technology sector — companies have been trying to retain workers.
Thursday’s report also said that the four-week moving average of claims — which flattens out some of the week-to-week volatility — ticked down by 1,000 to 205,750.
Locally, 25 workers filed initial unemployment claims the week ending Oct. 14, down from 37 the previous week, according to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
A total of 118 Bartholomew County workers were drawing jobless benefits the week ending Oct. 7, up from 112 the week before, according to the most recent data.
