Region unemployment rates up from last year, despite increase in residents working

Lakeshore Public Media | By Michael Gallenberger

Published April 24, 2023 at 6:15 PM CDT

Much of Northwest Indiana continued to see a higher unemployment rate than the state as a whole in March 2023.

Unemployment rates continue to climb in Northwest Indiana, but the number of residents working is also up.

Lake County's March unemployment rate was 5.4 percent, up from 4.8 percent last March, according to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. Porter County's rate rose from 3.5 percent in March 2022 to 4.1 percent last month.

But there were are actually more residents employed than a year ago, as more people entered the labor force. Gary once again has the highest unemployment rate of any major city in Indiana at 7.9 percent, overtaking East Chicago.