County’s unemployment rate up in August

About 200 more Johnson County residents were without jobs in August as compared to July, but the unemployment rate is down compared to the same time last year.

In August, 2,633 local residents were unemployed, up from 2,408 in July. Compared to the other 91 counties in Indiana, Johnson County fares pretty well. With an unemployment rate of 3.2 percent, it ranks 20th in the state for percent of residents who have jobs, according to a report released Monday by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.

LaGrange County boasts the best unemployment rate in the state at 2.9 percent. Vermillion County, near Terre Haute, had the highest unemployment rate in August at 5.9 percent.

In August 2017, Johnson County’s unemployment rate was 3.3 percent, slightly higher than it was this August, according to the report.

Indiana’s overall unemployment rate was 3.7 percent in August, up from 3.5 percent in July. The country’s unemployment rate was 3.9 percent in August, down from 4.1 percent in July and 4.5 percent the previous year, the report said.