Gibson County's unemployment rate was 7.5% in March, well below the state average but relatively unchanged from February or from March of 2012.

Statistics released by Indiana Workforce Development show the county's jobless rate tied for seventh lowest in the state.

Perry County was at 8.3% while Spencer County has a rate of 8.2%.   Vanderburgh and Pike Counties also had rates of over 8% but nearby Dubois County had the lowest jobless rate in Indiana at 6.3%.

Overall, Indiana’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained unchanged in March at 8.7 percent, halting a recent upward trend. The Hoosier State, which has more manufacturing jobs as a part of our private sector than any other state in the U.S. (19.7 percent of Indiana’s private sector), experienced another month of increase in manufacturing jobs, production hours and durable goods production employment. All of which may point to sustained growth and future expansion potential.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. (Toyota) with its ninth consecutive ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award for its continued leadership in protecting our environment through superior energy efficiency.  Toyota’s accomplishments were recognized at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. this week.

At its TMMI facility in Gibson County, Toyota installed an adiabatic humidification system in the paint booth improving energy efficiency by 35 percent and saving more than $1.1 million annually.  An adiabatic system uses atomized high pressure water instead of steam to control humidity and temperature.