Putnam jobless rate 7.3 %, tumbling to 52nd last month

While Indiana's unemployment rate continued its downward trend during November, Putnam County went in the opposite direction, according to the latest figures released by the state Department of Workforce Development.

The state's overall jobless rate fell slightly to 7.3 percent for November, an improvement of two-tenths of a percentage point over last month.

Putnam County, meanwhile, went from posting a 6.5 percent mark in October that was good enough for 33rd best among the state's 92 counties, to a 7.3 percent jobless rate for November that dropped the county to a tie for 52nd place.

For November, Putnam County was tied with Union, Steuben, Porter, Marion and Cass counties, faring better than all but three contiguous counties, Hendricks, Morgan and Montgomery.

Hendricks, a perpetual top-10 finisher, was tied with Knox County for fifth overall at 5.7 percent in November. Morgan, at 6.6 percent, tied for the 33rd spot in the state rankings with Shelby County. Meanwhile, Montgomery was in a tie with Perry County for 48th at 7.0 percent in the latest figures.

Putnam's numbers ranked better than its three other neighboring counties. Owen County, at 7.9 percent, was tied for 68th overall.

Meanwhile, Parke and Clay counties, at 8.0 percent, were again mired in the bottom 20 after escaping that plight during October. For November they were tied for 18th worst (75th best).

The best jobless figure in the state for the month belongs to Dubois County at 5.2 percent, followed by Bartholomew and Hamilton counties, tied at 5.3 percent, followed by Daviess at 5.5, Hendricks and Knox at 5.7 percent, Warrick at 5.8, Martin and Jackson at 5.9, Whitley, Kosciusko, Johnson and Boone, all in a tie for 10th at 6.0 percent.

Parts of the state continue to struggle with high joblessness as 20 of Indiana's 92 counties have unemployment rates of 8 percent or higher.

At the bottom of the Hoosier jobless rankings were Fayette and Vermillion at 9.9, followed by Lake at 9.1, Sullivan and Lawrence at 9.0 and LaPorte and Vigo at 8.9. Rounding out the bottom 10 were Miami (8.7), Blackford (8.5) and Crawford (8.4).

The new report shows about 230,000 people were looking for jobs last month in Indiana - some 25,000 fewer job seekers than a year ago when the state's unemployment rate was 8.4 percent.

Indiana gained about 25,000 private-sector jobs in November, with the construction and manufacturing sectors among those adding workers. That was the largest one-month jump in private sector job growth on record for Indiana, according to state officials.

Gov. Mike Pence called the employment report "welcome news" for the state.

"The continued downward trend in unemployment and the significant growth in private sector jobs demonstrate that Indiana's economy is strong and growing stronger every day," Pence said.

The state's unemployment rate peaked at 10.8 percent in mid-2009, with nearly 350,000 people then looking for jobs. Indiana joblessness declined below 9 percent in late 2010, but had not fallen much more until the last few months.

Indiana's unemployment rate remains slightly higher than the national rate of 7 percent but is lower than its four neighboring states.