Unemployment in the Fort Wayne metro area dropped to 4.0% in April, data the Indiana Department of Workforce Development released Monday shows.
For t .
INDIANAPOLIS â For the first time in a year, unemployment statistics show the stark difference between the first month that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic hit and now that the United States is emerging from the impact of the coronavirus.
Unemployment has returned to prepandemic, full-employment levels â just look at LaGrange County at 2.3% unemployment in April â and reminds people of northeast Indiana just how bad the situation was a year ago.
Rachel Blakeman of the Community Research Institute at Purdue University Fort Wayne offered insight and caution about the numbers. CRI believes the usual year-over-year comparison will be more appropriate in late summer or into fall, recalling how rapidly the labor market recovered. Right now, they create a bit of a false narrative in light of the circumstances that caused those numbers to spike last year. In other words, the spike a year ago was not a traditional market force but rather a public health measure that nec
Local wage increase lagging nation
Weekly average 279 of 358 large counties
SHERRY SLATER | The Journal Gazette
Allen County s average weekly wage in the fourth quarter was $1,048, a 10% increase from 2019 s fourth quarter, according to data the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Wednesday.
But don t get too excited by the bigger paychecks.
Of the 358 largest U.S. counties, Allen ranked 279th for wage growth over the one-year period that included significant economic effects from widespread shutdowns imposed to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Rachel Blakeman, director of Purdue University Fort Wayne s Community Research Institute, said she typically doesn t pay much attention to quarterly wage releases.
If it seems to you that Allen County has more people living here than it used to, you re not wrong.
Even amid a pandemic, Americans were on the move, .
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