July jobless figure at 6.6 percent

Overall, the Indiana unemployment picture continues to be about as normal and predictable as 2020 itself.

As the latest jobless figures go, numbers for July show Putnam County with a 6.6 percent unemployment rate, much better than the double-digit figures it had posted the previous two months.

Following jobless numbers of 11.3 for May and 10.0 for June, Putnam County posted a more stable 6.6 percent, according to monthly unemployment totals compiled by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. However, 6.6 percent continues to be a high-than-normal figure compared to pre-pandemic local jobless rates.

By county, the July ranking for Putnam County has moved it into the top 40, tying with three other counties -- Pulaski, Jackson and Harrison -- for the 37th-best ranking among Indiana’s 92 counties.

Back in June, a 10.0 unemployment figure put Putnam County among 51 Indiana counties with double-digit jobless rates. For July, however, only five Hoosier counties posted double-digit jobless figures.

“There’s good news on the employment front,” Greencastle Mayor Bill Dory said last week at City Hall.

Noting that he has been monitoring the unemployment statistics locally, Dory said there have been only 56 new claims for unemployment in August.

While the county reached its high for continued unemployment claims in May with 1,238, that figure is down to 515 this month, the mayor said.

Dory also said earlier that 2019 employment was “pretty tight” with a number of positions going unfilled.

“Across the state,” he said at the recent City Council meeting, “90,000 positions are available.”

Among the seven west-central Indiana counties, today Putnam trails only Parke (5.9 percent), while ranking ahead of Sullivan (7.1), Owen (7.2 percent), Clay (7.3), Vermillion (7.5) and Vigo (8.5).

The state’s unemployment rate for July is 7.9 percent, improving on a June figure of 11.2 percent.

While better than the state average, the July Putnam number is worse than all but two contiguous counties -- Owen (7.2) and Clay (7.3) -- while Montgomery (5.7), Parke (5.9), Morgan (5.9) and Hendricks (5.9) outpaced Putnam for the month.

Overall, Indiana’s top 10 best jobless ratings for July are: 1. Daviess (4.2), 2. Boone (4.9), 3. Posey, Martin, LaGrange and Adams (all 5.0), 7. Hamilton (5.3) and 8. White, Jay and Franklin (all 5.4)

Meanwhile, the bottom 10 unemployment ratings for July are: 1. Orange (14.3), 2. Lake (11.3), 3. Fayette (10.8), 4. LaPorte (10.5), 5. St. Joseph (10.2), 6. Marion (9.6), 7. Porter (9.4), 8. Starke (8.9), 9. Howard (8.8) and 10. Allen (8.6).