Jackson County’s unemployment rate stood at 3.8% in January, reflecting a rise from 3.3% in December 2024, as reported by the Indiana Department of Workforce. This uptick was documented in a report released on March 17, 2025. Despite the increase, the overall employment figures reveal a positive trend, with 22,687 county residents holding jobs in January 2025, which is 369 more than the 22,318 employed in January 2024.
This preliminary rate of 3.8% for January 2025 was slightly lower than the final December 2024 rate of 3.5%. The number of residents actively seeking employment rose significantly to 903 in January 2025, compared to just 757 in January 2024. The county’s labor force was also on the rise, totaling 23,590, which marks an increase of 515 individuals from the previous year.
When benchmarked against state and national figures, Jackson County’s performance stands out. The Indiana state rate was reported at 4.5% and the national rate at 4.4%, both higher than Jackson County’s. Only Monroe County among neighboring counties had a lower preliminary unemployment rate of 3.7%. Additional surrounding counties reported as follows: Bartholomew at 4.5%, Brown at 4.7%, Jennings at 5.3%, Lawrence at 5.0%, Scott at 5.3%, and Washington at 4.5%. Notably, Union County had the state’s lowest rate at 3.1%, while Howard County recorded the highest at 7.5%.
Meanwhile, a different set of statistics emerged from California where unemployment trends in Yuba and Sutter Counties showed an upward spike. The California Employment Development Department (EDD) reported a preliminary unemployment rate for Sutter County at 9.7% in January, a rise from 8.9% in December 2024. In Yuba County, the preliminary unemployment rate climbed to 7.3%, up from 6.6% in the preceding month.
These figures for Yuba and Sutter Counties overshadow the preliminary statewide rate of 5.5%, which itself has slightly increased from 5.2% in December. In January 2024, the statewide rate had been lower at 5.7%. Similarly, the national unemployment rate sat comfortably at 4% during this period.
The combined unemployment rate for the Yuba City Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area reached 8.7% in January 2025, a rise from 7.9% in December. In Sutter County, of the 45,900 individuals in the labor force, there were 4,500 unemployed, while Yuba County reported 2,600 unemployed from a labor force of 36,000. Overall, about 55,100 individuals across these counties were employed in either private or public sectors in January 2025.
However, contrary to the upward trend in unemployment, the total number of working individuals decreased by 1,000 compared to the previous month, with specific sectors facing notable job losses. There were 400 fewer farm jobs, 200 fewer in trade, transportation, and utilities, and 100 fewer in both private education and health services, leisure and hospitality, and government roles. In the public sector alone, employment comprised a total of 15,200 individuals, distributed as follows: 1,600 in federal jobs, 1,200 in state jobs, 4,400 in local government, and 8,000 in educational services. The private education and health sector employed approximately 10,200 individuals.
Sutter County’s unemployment rate of 9.7% ranked as the fourth highest across California counties, whereas Yuba County’s 7.3% positioned it as the 17th highest. Statewide, Placer County had an unemployment rate of 4.3%, Nevada County reported 4.9%, Sacramento County at 5%, Yolo County at 6.1%, Butte County at 6.3%, and Colusa County alarmingly topped the charts with a staggering 17.9%.
In another critical economic analysis, the tide of American retirements is set to impact the labor market significantly. A record 4.18 million U.S. workers are hitting retirement age in 2025, translating to an astonishing average of 11,400 Americans turning 65 every day. According to data from the Washington-based non-profit Alliance for Lifetime Income, more than half of the Baby Boomers reaching this age between 2024 and 2030 have assets of $250,000 or less. This indicates that many may not have saved enough for comfortable retirement, further stressing the labor market.
The uncertainty surrounding sufficient retirement savings is exacerbated by the recent declines in stock market performance. Michael Reid, a U.S. Economist at RBC Capital Markets, shared insights regarding the potential ripple effects: “If you see a stock market correction, it could not only impact the spending from that cohort but we're also talking about an upside risk to our unemployment forecast. Some of those folks may delay retirement by a year or two.” Reid highlighted that while employers replacing retiring workers does not contribute to overall payroll growth, the high rates of retirement remove significant numbers from the labor force, complicating participation rate calculations and impacting unemployment statistics.
The labor force participation rate recently hit a two-year low of 62.4% as of February 2025 and is still lagging behind pre-pandemic levels. Despite the reported unemployment rate remaining below 4.5% for over three years now, a broader measure of unemployment that includes those who have given up seeking work and those working part-time due to a lack of full-time positions rose to 8% in February 2025, the highest level since 2021.
This evolving scenario surrounding retirements and employment paints a complex picture for the U.S. labor market, which could face interruptions due to shifting demographics and economic uncertainties.
