Unemployment rates in many of the state’s metropolitan areas showed an increase in October.  

The jobless rate for the Gary metro area was 4.6 percent, up from 4.1 percent in September and up from 4.2 percent in October 2017, according to the latest figures released by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.

The state isn’t alarmed by the change in jobless rates. The state said during the year, the size of the labor force, employment and unemployment levels, and other measures of labor market undergo fluctuations due to seasonal events including changes in weather, harvests, major holidays, and school schedules.

In the Elkhart-Goshen metro area, the jobless rate for October was 2.9 percent, up from 2.3 percent in September and up from 2.2 percent where it was in October 2017.

Michigan City-La Porte area unemployment rate for October was 4.3 percent, up from 3.8 percent in September and up from 3.7 percent in October 2017.

The South Bend-Mishawaka jobless rate in October was 3.7 percent, up from 3.2 percent in September and up from October 2017’s jobless rate of 3.3 percent.

The state’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate for October was 3.5 percent, which was unchanged from September and unchanged from October 2017. The U.S. jobless rate in October was 3.7 percent, which was unchanged from 3.7 percent in September but down from 4.1 percent in October 2017.