Unemployment dips in Northwest Indiana, but Lake County still has state's highest jobless rate by wide margin
Job applications and information for the Gap Factory Store sit on a table during a job fair at Dolphin Mall in Miami are shown in this file photo. Unemployment fell in Northwest Indiana last month despite increases in a few cities.
Unemployment fell in Northwest Indiana in April, but Lake County still had the highest jobless rate in the Hoosier State by a wide margin — 1.5 percentage points higher than the runner-up.
A higher percentage of people were out of work in the Region than across the rest of the state. Lake County ranked first in joblessness statewide, LaPorte County third, and Porter County 12th.
Cities in north Lake County were especially hard-hit by the continuing economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. More than a tenth of the population was unemployed in Gary and East Chicago in April, according to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
The jobless rate peaked at nearly 20% in Northwest Indiana in April 2020 but largely has been declining since then. The jobless rate fell 0.1 percentage point to 6.7% in April 2021 across the Gary metropolitan area, which encompasses Lake, Porter, Newton and Jasper counties. The unemployment rate in the Gary metro area was 6.8% the previous month and 19.3% in April a year prior, right after lockdowns were imposed at the onset of the pandemic.
Aaron Kujawa, head chef at Lincoln Flats in downtown Valparaiso, talked about reopening the dining areas of Lincoln Flats on Tuesday. Full story here.
In April, Lake County had the Hoosier State’s highest jobless rate at 7.6%, unchanged from the previous month and down significantly from 20.3% during the depth of the coronavirus downturn in April 2020. Howard County, where the similarly blue-collar manufacturing town of Kokomo is located in north-central Indiana, has the state’s second-highest jobless rate of 6.1%.
LaPorte County ranked third highest out of Indiana’s 92 counties at 6% unemployment in April, which was down from 6.6% in March and down significantly from 20.2% at the same time a year ago, according to the Department of Workforce Development.
Porter County’s unemployment fell to 4.8% in April, down from 5.2% in March and from 17.5% at the same point a year earlier.
Overall, Indiana’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stayed steady at 3.9% in April, unchanged from the previous month but down from 16.9% at the same time the previous year, while the U.S. unemployment rate rose to 6.1%, up from 6% the previous month but down from 14.8% at the same point a year earlier, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The twelfth installment of Riding Shotgun with NWI Cops features the Lake County Sheriff’s Department’s Aviation Unit, led by Lt. Randy Phillips. Video shot by Kale Wilk and produced by Nat Cardona. Interview by Anna Ortiz.
Unemployment climbed as high as 12% in Northwest Indiana during the depths of the Great Recession in the late 2000s, but it had been significantly higher in Northwest Indiana during the pandemic, following stay-at-home orders meant to stop the spread of a virus that has killed more than 600,000 Americans thus far. More than one out of 10 Region residents on average were out of work for months.
In April, joblessness fell in Crown Point, Michigan City and Valparaiso. It rose in East Chicago, Gary, Hobart, Merrillville, Portage and Schererville, and it was unchanged in Hammond.
In the Calumet Region, Gary had the highest jobless rate of 14.6%; East Chicago the second-highest of 12.8%; Merrillville the third-highest of 9.5%; and Michigan City the fourth highest of 8%.
Valparaiso had the lowest jobless rate in the Region at 4.3%, followed by Crown Point at 4.7% and Schererville at 5%.
NWI Business Ins and Outs: Craft brewery, coffee shops, French bakery, pizzeria, and wellness center open
Coming soon
The much-anticipated BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse, a family-friendly brewpub chain that specializes in a California version of Chicago pizza, is slated to open across from the Southlake Mall in Hobart on April 26.
Executive Assistant Jennifer Greninger said the 8,000-square-foot restaurant will seat about 250 diners and have a covered patio. It will employ 165 workers.
“BJ’s was founded in 1978 in Southern California with a focus on deep-dish pizza, beer and our world-famous Pizookie dessert,” President and CEO George Levin said. “We take care of our guests and ensure a great, energetic experience with high-quality food and a broad menu with over 120 items. We are very proud to have been a pioneer in the craft brewing world since 1996 and we take pride in serving our own brewed BJ’s award-winning handcrafted beers.”
The Huntington Beach-based chain is opening its seventh Indiana location at 2757 E. 80th Ave. in the Crossings at Hobart shopping plaza.
For more information, visit bjsrestaurant.com.
Rebranded
Whispers Coffee and Tea replaced Gloria Jean’s at its two locations in the Southlake Mall in Hobart.
The Gloria Jean’s coffee shops in the food court and in a kiosk on the first floor at the center of the mall have rebranded as Whispers. They still offer a wide variety of coffee and tea drinks, including many flavored coffees.
Fans of the Gloria Jean’s brand, which was founded in 1979 in Chicago and specializes in sweeter flavors, can still get their caffeine fix in the Beacon Hill development in Crown Point.
Coming
Evvy’s Coffeehouse will soon caffeinate LaPorte.
The coffee shop will open at 1103 Indiana Ave. this summer. It’s locating in a 121-year-old “little blue house that has been home to musicians, lovers and businesses, and even had a rumored role in the history of the Underground Railroad.”
Renovations of the residential property are underway.
For more information, visit evvyscoffee.com.
Open
Bao’s Pastry is serving up fresh-baked French goods in Valparaiso that the owner considers “works of art.”
The bakery opened last year at 12 Jefferson St. The dessert shop specializes in authentic French pastries, including macarons, tarts, eclairs, canelés and croissants.
Founder and pastry chef Bao Ngoc Bui trained as a pastry chef at the Paris Auguste Escoffier School in Paris. She worked at several pastry shops around Paris and moved to the United States a few years ago, eventually settling in Valpo because her family “fell in love with the area, the wonderful environment, the great quality of life, the thriving economy, all the beautiful residential neighborhoods here, and mostly because of the beautiful nature all around Lake Michigan.”
She and her husband initially took her pastries around to various farmers’ markets in Valparaiso and Chesterton and prepared desserts at Gino’s Steakhouse before opening the brick-and-mortar location.
Bao’s Pastry is open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday.
For more information, visit baospastry.com or call 219-299-8693.
Open
Another Round Pizza & Beer is serving up pizza and beer at 2540 Promenade Way in Founders Square in Portage.
The restaurant has appetizers like goat cheese and artichoke dip, Buffalo chicken dip, whipped ricotta cloud, loaded taters, wings, chicken tenders. It has salads like Caprese, Ceasar and spinach artichoke with bleu cheese dressing. Sandwich options include steak, meatball, stromboli, and avocado and tomato with crumbly goat cheese and a creamy pesto aioli.
It offers a number of specialty pizzas such as Hawaiian, Margherita and the “Pig Newton” with prosciutto, fig and balsamic vinaigrette. The “I Love You So Mushroom” features truffle oil, basil pesto, sundried tomato pesto and, of course, mushrooms. It also offers specialty pizzas and build-your-own pizzas with innovative bases like pesto, nacho cheese, and oil and garlic.
The bar menu includes affordably priced wines and beers both domestic and craft, including 3 Floyds, 18th Street, Revolution and other local options.
For more information, call 219-734-6950 or visit anotherround.com.
Open
The Sangha Center for Wellness opened last year in downtown Valparaiso, where it hopes to help people heal from a variety of maladies.
The wellness center opened at 100 E. Lincolnway last summer. It aims to “manage stress, soothe anxiety and transform trauma” in a holistic way.
It offers a number of classes and workshops, including yoga for beginners and Zen vinyasa. The Sangha Center for Wellness also has yoga therapy for a variety of health issues.
Instructor Katie Hawks aims to guide people on their path to healing.
“It’s a wellness center that offers individualized sessions, clinical massage therapy, yoga therapy and rehabilitate exercises,” she said. “It offers classes online, such as for yoga or addiction recovery. I help people recover, whether from back pain or grief.”
Hawks dreamed of being a doctor when she was a little girl.
“I’ve always been interested in healing and helping people,” she said. “Then I got sick mysteriously and studied a bunch of healing modalities that I’ve integrated into my practice.”
Open
She practiced in Chicago for more than a decade before relocating to Valpo.
“We chose to move to Valparaiso because it was a more quiet space with more nature,” she said. “We lived in Chicago but would come to Valpo to bring our dogs here. We like the downtown. It’s close to home and it’s close to everybody.”
Sangha means community in Sanskrit, which reflects the wellness center’s mission.
“I wanted to be in a small community and serve a small community with a roundtable of healing practices,” she said.
She eventually hopes to grow and expand the business to include acupuncture, a sauna and a few other practitioners.
“I mostly help people with chronic pain, stress and anxiety,” she said. “Even the smallest amount of self-care for a small period of time can have a profound effect. It’s important to take really good care of yourself. No one who comes here leaves feeling worse. Everyone ends up feeling better, more connected, a little less stressed.”
The Sangha Center for Wellness is open by appointment only.
For more information, call 219-678-7419, email katie@sanghacenterforwellness.com or visit www.sanghacenterforwellness.com.
Open
Luke Oil reopened its gas station and convenience store in the Marina District in Hammond, just south of the Chicago border.
The Hobart-based chain of gas stations fully rebuilt the store after a multimillion-dollar investment. The Luke Oil by the state line features 18 pumps, a brand new Wash UP car wash, nitro cold brew and more bakery items like muffins and cinnamon rolls. It also is debuting the in-house restaurant Tu Taco, which offers made-to-order tacos, taco bowls and burritos.
If you would like your business to be included in a future column, email joseph.pete@nwi.com.
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Published at Thu, 27 May 2021 12:00:00 +0000