More grim news about the nation’s economy Thursday followed earlier reports this week about staggering unemployment in Elkhart County, Ind.
The jobless rate in the county in April was estimated at 29.3 percent, according to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, the second highest among all 92 counties in the state.
Even at the height of the Great Recession in 2009, the county’s unemployment rate never reached 20 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Before the coronavirus outbreak, unemployment in the county had been less than 3 percent.
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Workforce Development, in its monthly report, said an estimated 33,439 workers were without jobs in Elkhart County in April.
The only other county in Indiana with a higher rate was Howard County, with 34.1 percent.
Two of Elkhart County’s neighbors were also high on the state list: LaGrange was at No. 3 with 28.8 percent and Noble County was No. 4 at 28.7 percent.