Putnam County's jobless rate slips into bottom third

The rating may be better, but somehow the ranking is not.

Putnam County's jobless rate may have been better in July than it was for June, but that did stop the county from falling into the bottom third of the state unemployment rankings.

Just as the seasonally adjusted Indiana unemployment rate improved to 5.8 percent for July (after 5.9 for June), the local figure advanced a couple percentage points as well

last month.

In fact, the current Putnam County jobless figure improved slightly to 6.2 percent for July (after being 6.5 for June) but the ranking dropped into a tie for 64th overall with Newton, Ohio, Randolph and Ripley among the 92 Hoosier counties.

Oddly, at two separate meetings this past week, it was noted that most Putnam County companies are actively hiring, especially Ascena (formerly F.B. Distro) as it continues its retooling to an e-commerce mission, Greencastle/Putnam County Development Center Director Bill Dory told the Greencastle Redevelopment Commission.

"There are plenty of job opportunities in the community right now," Dory said Wednesday evening.

It was noted that even Hendricks County businesses have been actively recruiting Putnam County workers.

Meanwhile, the new jobless figure also landed the county in the bottom three among the seven counties of west-central Indiana.

That means Putnam's July figures fared better than only two neighboring counties -- Clay and Owen -- which continue to languish in the bottom 20 of the state's monthly jobless listings.

Clay County, at 7.1 percent, was tied for seventh worst last month, while Owen bottomed out at 14th worst for July with its 6.8 percent mark.

For once, however, Parke County fared better than Putnam with a 6.0 percent rating for July, good for 57th best overall.

Meanwhile, at the opposite end of the jobless spectrum, neighboring Hendricks County, a regular resident of the top 10, tied for ninth overall in July at 4.6 percent.

Neighboring Morgan County was tied for 16th at 4.9 percent in the latest unemployment rankings, while Montgomery, at 5.4, tied for the 41st in July.

Indiana's best jobless figure (3.9 percent) is again owned by Dubois County with Hamilton and Bartholomew tied for second at 4.2, followed in the top five by Pulaski, Martin and Daviess, all at 4.4.

Rounding out the top 10 for July are Kosciusko at 4.5, followed by Hendricks, Boone and Jackson, all at 4.6 percent.

Meanwhile, landing at the bottom of Hoosier jobless rankings for July were Sullivan at 7.9 percent unemployment, Fayette at 7.8 percent, followed by Vigo and Lake at 7.7, Delaware at 7.5, then Clay, Grant and Lawrence, all at 7.1, with LaPorte completing the bottom 10 at 7.0 percent.

Indiana's unemployment rate remained steady at 5.8 percent for July, leaving the state with a slightly better jobless mark than the national level. The national unemployment rate for July stood at 6.2 percent, going up one-tenth of a percentage point from June.

Indiana Department of Workforce Development officials said Indiana added nearly 10,000 private sector jobs last month while also seeing growth in the size of the labor force.

"Indiana followed up a record-breaking June by adding nearly 10,000 more private sector jobs in July," Scott B. Sanders, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, said. "The Hoosier labor force has also grown by over 54,000 individuals in the past year at a rate that is more than eight times larger than the national rate of growth during the same time period, which is quite remarkable."

Sanders also noted initial claims and continued claims for unemployment insurance benefits remain at levels not seen since 2000.