County jobless rate up slightly in January

Jackson County’s unemployment rate grew 0.5 per- cent to 4.1 percent in January from the previous month.

January’s rate, however, was still a percentage point lower than the 5.1 percent rate in January a year ago and leaves the county with the ninth lowest rate in the state.

The lowest rate in the state in January belonged to Hamilton County at 3.5 percent, while Vermillion County had the highest at 8.4 percent. The state’s rate in January was 4.6, and the national rate was 5.3 percent.

In January, 367 more people in Jackson County reported having jobs than during the same month a year earlier. The number of unemployed in January was 902 or 193 less than January 2015. The number of employed in the county grew from 20,497 in January 2015 to 20,864 in January of this year.

Other counties in the region, their rates and rankings are Bartholomew 3.9 (87th); Monroe 5.2 (43rd); Scott 5.4 (37th); Washington 5.6 (29th); Jennings 6.1 (20th); and Lawrence 7.5 (third).