The unemployment rate in Northwest Indiana hit 10.2 percent in May, the highest rate for the steelmaking region in the current recession, according to a report Monday from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
That rate compares to an April jobless rate of 9.9 percent and a rate of just 5.1 percent one year ago, before massive layoffs started at local steel mills and other industries started suffering the full brunt of the recession.
The jobless rate rose year-over-year in all 372 metropolitan areas tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with the largest increases in the nation coming in Kokomo and Elkhart, where the May jobless rates stood at 18.8 percent and 17.5 percent respectively.
In a sign of hope for the beleaguered steel industry, ArcelorMittal last week announced it would restart the idled blast furnace No. 5 at Indiana Harbor in late July.
