By LEANN BURKE
lburke@dcherald.com

Dubois County’s unemployment rate fell 1% between June and July.

The Indiana Department of Workforce Development reported Dubois County unemployment at 6.1% for July, down from 7.1% in June. According to the data, Dubois County has a workforce of 23,060 for July. Of that, 21,645 were employed; and 1,415 were unemployed.

By way of comparison, Dubois County’s unemployment rate in July 2019 was 2.6%

The 6.1% rate puts Dubois County tied for No. 10 in the ranking of the state’s 92 counties, along with Gibson, Ripley, Steuben, Union and Whitley.

Daviess County had Indiana’s lowest July rate: 4.2%. Orange County had the highest July rate: 14.3%.

July unemployment rates for neighboring counties are: Daviess, 4.2% (down from 5.7% in June); Martin, 5.0% (down from 6.5% in June); Orange, 14.3% (down from 19.8% in June); Perry, 6.7% (down from 10.3% in June); Pike, 7.1% (down from 9.1% in June); Spencer, 5.7% (down from 7.8% in June); and Warrick, 5.7% (down from 8.1% in June).

The new state report placed Indiana’s overall unemployment rate at 7.9%, lower than the national rate of 10.5%.

July’s report covers the second half of June and the first few weeks of July.

Hoosiers By The Numbers reported 88,502 initial unemployment claims in July. In the first week, 22,102 new claims were filed, a 957.5% increase from the same week last year. The second week saw 28,360 new claims, an increase of 704.1% over last year. The third week saw 17,911 new claims, a 684.5% increase over last year, and the fourth week saw 20,129 new claims, an increase of 881.4% over last year.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the July unemployment rates for neighboring states are: Ohio, 8.9% (down from 11% in June); Kentucky, 5.7% (up from 4.4% in June); Michigan, 8.7% (down from 14.9% in June); and Illinois, 11.3% (down from 14.5% in June). Other Midwest rates in July were Minnesota, 7.7% (down from 8.6% in June) and Wisconsin, 7.0% (down from 8.6% in June).