Unemployment Numbers Drop in Starke County

  
 

The unemployment numbers for Starke County continue to decrease.

Ron Gifford from the Starke County Economic Development Foundation said the numbers have been quite encouraging.

“Since January of this year, we’ve seen our labor force grow by almost three hundred more people out there actively seeking a position,” said Gifford. “There’s almost five hundred more people employed than there were in January and the ranks of our unemployed have depleted down by about 180. They’re actually finding jobs and the people that had been out of the job market for some period of time apparently are coming back to it.”

More people obtaining jobs means Starke County has left the high ranks of unemployment.

“For a long time, we were always at least in the top 20 – when I say top 20 I mean the highest unemployment rates of the 92 counties. For the last two months, we’ve been in the middle 20s where we are in relation to the rest of the state. In fact, two of the counties we adjoin, LaPorte and St. Joseph, are now higher than we are. There’s lots of good news there.”

Starke County’s rate was 6.5 percent in July which ranks the county 23rd in the state. Pulaski County ranks 89th with a 4.4 percent unemployment rate while Marshall County shows a ranking of 60th with an unemployment rate of 5.2 percent.