The Indiana Department of Workforce Development recently released figures showing that unemployment in Bartholomew County increased to a jobless rate of 2.9% in April. This is an increase from 2.3% a year ago, but lower than the national and state rates. By comparison, the U.S. unemployment rate was 3.9%, up from 3.4% in the previous year. Meanwhile, Indiana’s jobless rate was 3.6% in April, slightly up from 3.2% a year earlier.

Similar trends can be observed in Jackson and Jennings Counties as their unemployment rates also showed increases over the same period. Notwithstanding, fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits in the week ending May 11, indicating layoffs are at historically low levels. Jobless claims for the same week also dropped from 232,000 to 222,000.

In Bartholomew County specifically, 22 workers filed initial unemployment claims in the week ending May 11. This figure was indeed down from 25 the previous week. Overall, 123 workers in the county were drawing jobless benefits. These weekly unemployment claims are deemed to be an indication of the number of U.S. layoffs occurring in a given week. Despite these layoffs, jobs remain plentiful and the economy remains broadly healthy due to strong consumer spending.

However, several companies, including Google parent company Alphabet, Apple, and eBay, have recently announced layoffs. Walmart, Peloton, Stellantis, Nike, and Tesla also recently made job cut announcements. As such, by the week ending May 4, there were 1.79 million Americans collecting jobless benefits, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week.

In light of these statistics and economic conditions, the question often arises about how to get through to the Employment Development Department (EDD) in the event of job loss. The fastest way to get through to EDD is by phone via their customer service line. One can also engage with EDD customer service through the online platforms provided by the organization. For more insights and guidance on this process, you can refer to eddcaller.com, a specialized platform offering comprehensive information and assistance in contacting EDD.