Highlighting local resources for jobseekers amid latest Indiana unemployment numbers

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. -- The latest unemployment numbers still have Indiana well below the national average.

In March, Indiana's non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.6 percent compared to the national rate of 4.3 percent. Though, there are pockets of the Hoosier state struggling more than others.

According to latest data, the non-seasonally adjusted statewide unemployment rate went up slightly from 3.4 percent in March 2025 to 3.6 percent in March 2026, and with that, local counties did too, with the exception of Elkhart County.

Saint Joseph County's non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is slightly higher than the state average.

Under the umbrella of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development is WorkOne, which has local offices and offers resources for people who find themselves unemployed in the community.

"What we do is we bridge the gap between the employer and the jobseeker," says Jay Dixon, WorkOne Northern Indiana Director of Operations.

Think of WorkOne as a one-stop-shop for jobseekers looking to get back on their feet.

"We find out where they're at, where they want to go, and we do this by skills assessment, career exploration," explains Dixon.

Once they have a path in mind, the next step is making sure each jobseeker is prepared.

"If they need CDL training or healthcare training, these are all things that we provide at no cost to the participant," Dixon explains. "And then we have workshops, if they need brushed up on say resume development, job searching, because a lot of people, they haven't done it in years."

From February to March of this year, the unemployment rate in St. Joseph County has improved; it's a trend Dixon is hopeful about.

"It is trending in the right direction, it's not where we want it to be obviously, we'd like to see it at zero percent," says Dixon.

Dixon says the biggest hurdle right now is the soaring cost of living. A lot of people coming through their doors may already have a job but need to make more money.

"So, we're seeing people that are needing to skill-up," says Dixon. "That is the barrier currently, is 'I'm used to making X account and I need to make this much more to take care of my family.'"

WorkOne not only hopes to help people with job stability and retention but help them gain stability back in life.

"There's an urgency when we help them, because we know that bills are piling up, we know their family's hurting, and so we want to sit down with them and we want to find out what barriers we have," Dixon says.

WorkOne has locations in all of our local counties, if you take a look at the map on the WorkOne page on in.gov you can find the WorkOne closest to you.