Unemployment in Bartholomew County increased in August but remained lower than the national and state rates, according to figures released by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
The jobless rate in Bartholomew County was 3.7% in August, up from 2.8% in August 2023, the figures show.
U.S. unemployment was 4.2% last month, up from 3.8% in August 2023. In Indiana, the jobless rate was 4.2% in August, up from 3.4% a year earlier.
In Jackson County, unemployment increased from 2.9% in August 2023 to 3.6% last month, while the jobless rate in Jennings County rose from 3.2% to 4% over the same period.
The update from state officials came just days after the U.S. Department of Labor reported last week that the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell to their lowest level in four months the week ending Sept. 14, The Associated Press reported.
Jobless claims slid by 12,000, to 219,000, for the week of Sept. 14, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s fewer than economists’ expectations for 230,000 new filings.
In Bartholomew County, 26 workers filed initial unemployment claims the week ending Sept. 14, up from 20 the week before, according to the most recent data from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
Overall, 152 Bartholomew County workers were drawing jobless benefits the week ending Sept. 7, down from 160 the week ending Aug. 31.
Weekly filings for unemployment benefits, considered largely representative of layoffs, had risen moderately since May before this week’s decline, according to wire reports. Though still at historically healthy levels, the recent increase signaled that high interest rates may finally be taking a toll on the labor market.
In response to weakening employment data and receding consumer prices, the Federal Reserve on Wednesday cut its benchmark interest rate by a half of a percentage point as the central bank shifts its focus from taming inflation toward supporting the job market, according to the AP. The Fed’s goal is to achieve a rare “soft landing,” whereby it curbs inflation without causing a recession.
It was the Fed’s first rate cut in four years after a series of rate hikes in 2022 and 2023 pushed the federal funds rate to a two-decade high of 5.3%, according to wire reprots.
Inflation has retreated steadily, approaching the Fed’s 2% target and leading Chair Jerome Powell to declare recently that it was largely under control.
U.S. employers added a modest 142,000 jobs in August, up from a paltry 89,000 in July, but well below the January-June monthly average of nearly 218,000.
