By Herald Staff

Dubois County’s jobless rate dropped to 3.5% in November, down from 3.6% in October, according to preliminary data from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.

Ten of the 92 Indiana counties had lower unemployment rates. Jay, LaGrange and Whitley counties had the same rate as Dubois County.

Current unemployment reporting represents a coordinated effort throughout the nation with a specified reporting time frame that targets the week that includes the 12th day of the month.

The new state report placed Indiana’s overall unemployment rate in November at 5.0%. This rate is down from from 5.5% in October and lower than the national rate of 6.7%.

Indiana’s November labor force had a net decrease of 44,743 people over the previous month.

Dubois County’s neighboring counties' rates were: Daviess, 2.8% (up from 2.7%); Martin, 3.4% (up from 3.2%) Orange, 7.1% (down from 8.2%); Perry, 4.5% (up from 4.2%); Pike, 4.2% (up from 3.9%); Spencer, 4.3% (up from 3.8%) and Warrick, 3.4% (up from 3.3%).

Out of all 92 counties, the highest November rate was in Lake County, 7.4%. The lowest was in Daviess County, 2.8%.

Dubois County’s labor force consisted of 22,003 people in November — 21,228 of whom were employed. That left 775 classified as unemployed.

By way of comparison, the county’s rate in November 2019 was 2.3%.

Indiana’s October rate was slightly lower than its immediate neighboring states. Those other states’ rates were Ohio, 5.7%; Kentucky, 5.6%; Michigan, 6.9%; and Illinois, 6.9%. Other Midwest rates in November were Minnesota, 4.4%, and Wisconsin, 5.0%.