This time last year, unemployment was surging thanks to the coronavirus impacting the area heavily. The area has rebounded nicely with White County reporting an unemployment rate of 5.3% for April. That’s down three-tenths of a percent from March and down a whopping 13.8 points from the 19.1% rate registered in April of 2020. For scope, White County had an unemployment rate of 3.7% in March of 2020, a month before the first case of CoViD-19 was reported in the area. 6.3% of folks in Gallatin County are unemployed and Hamilton County with Wabash County have the lowest unemployment rates in our region coming in at 4.6%. Edwards County isn’t far behind at 4.8%. Wayne County is at 5.2% while Saline County is a bit higher at 6.8%. Hardin County remains the highest in our region with a 7% flat unemployment rate.
In our region, total non farm employment increased by 950 when compared to April of 2020. Employment gains were posted in Trade, Transportation, and Utilities at plus 275. Leisure and Hospitality also saw gains of around 250. Government, Natural Resources, and Mining saw upticks of 125. Manufacturing and Construction jobs also rose slightly. No significant change was reported in Educational and Health Services, Professional and Business Services, Financial Activities, or the Information sectors.
