March's Unemployment Snapshot
Indiana's unemployment rate remains lower than the nation's (6.2), but continues to inch upward, arriving at 5.1 percent in March. An increasing number of Indiana counties experienced rates of unemployment higher than the state average.
Orange County in south central Indiana continues to experience the highest unemployment rate (10 percent), with 830 residents looking for work. In terms of sheer numbers, though, our most populous county, Marion, also has the largest number of jobless, with 24,240 residents unemployed in March.
Regionally, Commerce Region 8's counties each have rates higher than the state, with Randolph and Jay counties averaging unemployment rates of 8.5 percent during this latest month.
Central Indiana is suffering less from unemployment than other parts of the state—seven of the nine counties in the Indianapolis Metro area have rates lower than the state rate of 5.1.
Overall, 161,299 Hoosiers were seeking work in March 2003. On the positive side, 2.98 million residents of Indiana had jobs in March. Whether full- or part-time, low or high paying we don't know, as the labor force estimates do not yield that information.
For more details, visit STATS Indiana at www.stats.indiana.edu.