Lake County ranked second in joblessness statewide. LaPorte County was third, and Porter County eleventh.
Cities in north Lake County were especially hard-hit by the continuing economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 10% of the population was unemployed in Gary and East Chicago, according to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
The jobless rate peaked at nearly 20% in Northwest Indiana in April 2020, but largely has been declining since then. The jobless rate fell 0.4% to 7% in June 2021 across the Gary metropolitan area, which encompasses Lake, Porter, Newton and Jasper counties. The unemployment rate in the Gary metro area was 7.4% the previous month and 13.9% in June 2020, not long after lockdowns were imposed at the onset of the pandemic.