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.
Unemployment in double digits in 4 Region cities nwitimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nwitimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Unemployment fell in Northwest Indiana in April, but Lake County still had the highest jobless rate in the Hoosier State by a wide margin â 1.5 percentage points higher than the runner-up.
A higher percentage of people were out of work in the Region than across the rest of the state. Lake County ranked first in joblessness statewide, LaPorte County third, and Porter County 12th.
Cities in north Lake County were especially hard-hit by the continuing economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. More than a tenth of the population was unemployed in Gary and East Chicago in April, according to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.Â