Marshall County’s unemployment rate dropped for the month of March, but the figures still don’t reflect the impact of COVID-19 and the stay-at-home order.
The county saw an unemployment rate of 3.2 percent, according to the latest report from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. That’s down from 3.3 the month before and 3.7 during the same period last year.
Department of Workforce Development Commissioner Fred Payne explaines that the report only covered the first half of the month, due to the nationally-coordinated reporting schedule. “That timeframe covers the week that includes the 12th day of the month, so you’re really looking from midway from month to month,” he explained during Friday’s COVID-19 press conference. “So for March, that week actually ended right before we started seeing a surge in our unemployment claims.” He said next month’s report will be more reflective of what’s happening now.
But Marshall County’s unemployment rate itself doesn’t tell the whole story. The actual number of residents employed also went down, as there were fewer people in the county’s labor force.
Marshall County continues to see a lower unemployment rate than the state or federal levels. Indiana’s non-seasonally adjusted rate stayed at 3.4 percent in March, while the U.S. rate went up to 4.5. Elkhart County had the lowest rate of Marshall County’s neighbors at 2.8 percent, while Starke County’s was highest at 4.9 percent.
