Unemployment in Bartholomew County increased in September 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 3.8% in September, up from 2.6% in September 2023, the figures show.
U.S. unemployment was 4.1% last month, up from 3.8% in September 2023. In Indiana, the jobless rate was 4.3% in September, up from 3.5% a year earlier.
In Jackson County, unemployment increased from 2.5% in September 2023 to 3.5% last month, while the jobless rate in Jennings County rose from 2.9% to 4% over the same period.
The update from state officials came as the federal government announced that the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell last week, but the total number of those collecting benefits rose to its highest level in almost three years, The Associated Press reported.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for jobless claims fell by 15,000 to 227,000 for the week of Oct. 19, according to wire reports. That’s less than the 241,000 analysts forecast.
Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered a proxy for U.S. layoffs.
Continuing claims, the total number of Americans collecting jobless benefits, rose by 28,000 to 1.9 million for the week of Oct. 12. That’s the most since November 13, 2021.
The rising level of continuing claims suggests that some who are receiving benefits are finding it harder to land new jobs, according to wire reports. That could mean that demand for workers is waning, even as the economy remains strong.
Still, the four-week average of continuing claims is only as high as it was this summer, and not terribly concerning yet, analysts say.
In Bartholomew County, 22 workers filed initial unemployment claims the week ending Oct. 19, down slightly from 24 the week before, according to the most recent data from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
Overall, 144 Bartholomew County workers were drawing jobless benefits the week ending Oct. 12, down from 151 the week ending Oct. 5.
In response to weakening employment data and receding consumer prices, the Federal Reserve last month cut its benchmark interest rate by a half of a percentage point as the central bank shifted its focus from taming inflation toward supporting the job market, according to the AP. The Fed is trying to pull off a rare “soft landing,” whereby it brings down inflation without tipping the economy into a recession.
It was the Fed’s first rate cut in four years after a series of increases starting in 2022 that pushed the federal funds rate to a two-decade high of 5.3%.
Inflation has retreated steadily, approaching the Fed’s 2% target and leading Chair Jerome Powell to declare recently that it was largely under control.
Earlier this month, the government reported that U.S. inflation reached its lowest point since February 2021, according to wire reports.
During the first four months of 2024, applications for jobless benefits averaged just 213,000 a week before rising in May. They hit 250,000 in late July, supporting the notion that high interest rates were finally cooling a red-hot U.S. job market.
In August, the Labor Department reported that the U.S. economy added 818,000 fewer jobs from April 2023 through March this year than were originally reported. The revised total was also considered evidence that the job market has been slowing steadily, compelling the Fed to start cutting interest rates.
Despite some signs of labor market slowing, America’s employers added a surprisingly strong 254,000 jobs in September, easing some concerns about a weakening job market and suggesting that the pace of hiring is still solid enough to support a growing economy, according to wire reports.
