Tribune staff reports

The number of people on the job in Jackson County in October reached a level that hasn’t been seen in nearly 10 years.

According to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development’s preliminary report for October — released Monday — 20,868 people from a workforce of 21,657 were employed.

The last time that many people in the county had jobs was nearly 10 years ago in March 2006, when 20,862 people from a workforce of 21,868 were employed.

The county’s October preliminary unemployment rate of 3.6 percent was 1.3 points lower than the same month a year ago. The report shows that 789 people were looking for jobs in October, up from 744 in September, when the county’s unemployment rate was 3.5 percent.

The county rate was the fifth-lowest statewide. Nine other counties also had an unemployment rate of 3.6 percent.

Dubois County had the lowest rate at 2.9 percent, followed by Hamilton County at 3 percent and Bartholomew County at 3.1 percent. Vermillion County had the highest rate among the state’s 92 counties at 6.4 percent.

The state’s unemployment rate in October was 4.2 percent, which was lower than the national rate of 4.8 percent.

In Jackson County in October, 789 people reported they were looking for work. A year ago, 1,038 people were looking for work.

For the year, the county’s rate has been averaging 4.2 percent a month, with a high of 5.7 percent in January. The low was 3.5 percent in September.

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County;rate;ranking

Jackson;3.6;69th

Bartholomew;3.1;90th

Brown;3.8;53rd

Jennings;4.2;39th

Monroe;4.3;36th

Washington;4.4;34th

Scott;4.6;24th

Lawrence;5.6;6th

State;4.2

Nation;4.8

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