The Indiana Department of Workforce Development released the final unemployment rates for 2017 and Indiana’s rate stayed steady at 3.4 percent, still coming in lower than the national average of 4.1 percent.
In Marshall County, the unemployment rate dropped from 3 percent to 2.7 percent. Compare that to December of 2016 when Marshall County’s unemployment was at 3.4 and it appears that Marshall County is seeing lower unemployment.
However, just because there is a lower unemployment rate, that doesn’t necessarily mean more people are working. When measuring statistics, the labor force is determined by employed workers and the number of unemployed individuals who indicate they do not have a job but they have been seeking employment within the last four weeks.
Individuals who indicate they are not seeking work are not included in the labor force. As a result of fewer people seeking employment, less people are considered unemployed.
In December of 2016, Marshall County’s labor force was at 23,713 and that figure was down to 23,157 in 2017, with a total of 556 fewer people included in the labor force.
