HANCOCK COUNTY — For the second month in a row, Hancock County’s unemployment rate remained the same as last year’s estimates, according to state data.
The county’s 3.4 percent unemployment rate for August didn’t differ from the rate in August 2017, the Indiana Department of Workforce Development announced Monday. That’s similar to July, when the county had the same percentage of estimated unemployed workers as it did in July of last year, at 3.1 percent.
Hancock County, which ranked 61st in the state for unemployment, had a lower August unemployment rate than some parts of the region, such as Marion and Henry counties, which both had 3.8 percent rates, as well as Madison County’s 4 percent unemployed labor force. Hamilton and Rush counties had the lowest rates of 3 percent among surrounding counties, while Shelby County’s rate was also at 3.4 percent.
The DWD estimates Hancock County in both July and August had more than 1,000 employed workers and fewer than 50 unemployed residents in its labor force compared to the same month in 2017. The county’s 40,253-person August labor force adds up to 38,898 people employed and 1,355 unemployed. Last August, Hancock County had a 39,100-person labor force, with 37,757 employed workers.
As part of Monday’s news release, DWD analysts reminded the public that a county’s unemployment estimate shouldn’t be compared to the prior month’s rate because of seasonal events, weather, holidays and school schedules. They advise comparison to the same month from previous years.
Indiana’s non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.7 percent dropped from last August’s rate of 3.9 percent. Nationally, August unemployment in the United States dropped from 4.5 percent in August 2017 to 3.9 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The state’s unemployment rate has been below or equal to the U.S. rate for more than four years, according to the DWD.
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Hancock County Aug. unemployment data
Labor force: 40,253
Employed: 38,898
Unemployed: 1,355
How we compare
Hancock County: 3.4 percent
Madison County: 4 percent
Hamilton County: 3 percent
Henry County: 3.8 percent
Rush County: 3 percent
Shelby County: 3.4 percent
Marion County: 3.8 percent
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
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