The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in its latest estimates that Lake County's unemployment rate has topped 6% during the last two months.
That rate significantly increased from September 2023's 3.5%, the benchmark year. However, the September rate of 6.1% was slightly down from August's 6.3%.
Indiana's overall unemployment rate for September was 4.3%, the seasonally adjusted rate. More than 3.3 million people are employed statewide.
The Gary metropolitan area has the most workers after Indianapolis, which has more than a million people employed. Organizations in the Gary area employ 324,180 people, with an unemployment rate of 5.6%, slightly down from August.
In the counties, unemployment rates varied slightly, but all were higher than the 2023 benchmark.
Porter County experienced a slight decline in unemployment from 4.8% in August to 4.5% in September.
Marshall, Pulaski, Starke and Newton counties saw slight decreases from August, but still more than a percentage point higher than the benchmark year.
Jasper County stayed the same as September at 4.4%, as did La Porte County at 5.2%.
The city of East Chicago's unemployment was down to 7.8% in September from 8.7% in August. The city of Gary's unemployment is still above 10%.
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