November 26, 2014 at 4:52 p.m.

Jay rate stays below 5 percent


By RAY COONEY
President, editor and publisher

Area unemployment numbers went up in October. But the overall trend during the past year has been positive.
While Jay County’s unemployment rate jumped 0.4 percentage points in October to 4.8 percent, the month still marked third in a row in which the rate has been below 5 percent.
The unemployment rate of 4.3 percent in September was the lowest for the county since December 2007. It had spiked at 12.6 percent during the Great Recession, and was between 6.5 and 8.5 percent last year.
“That was one of the lowest points in the economy in a long time,” Jay County Development Corporation executive director Bill Bradley said. “We’ve climbed out of that now.
“In this region, in this part of the world, manufacturing is still king, and manufacturing is doing quite well right now. From that standpoint, Jay County was very poised to do well.”
The unemployment rate in Jay County dipped below 5 percent for the first time in six years when it hit 4.7 percent in April. It was back above that mark the next three months, but fell below it again at 4.7 percent in August and has remained there since.
Bradley noted a variety of factors for Jay County’s relatively-strong standing in terms of unemployment rate, which is tied for 27th-lowest out of the state’s 92 counties.
The county’s diversity in manufacturing is a benefit, he said. If one sector of manufacturing sees a downturn, the others tend to bring stability.
He added that the county’s fiscal responsibility, its focus on retaining current employers and its general outlook on development have been driving forces.
“Jay County has had a positive attitude toward economic development,” Bradley said. “It has always wanted growth and development.”
He noted that there is a continuing effort toward making sure the outlook stays strong.
Top on that list is a push toward workforce development that has included the creation of a manufacturing academy at Jay County High School (see related story in section C).
“The biggest thing, I think, is workforce, workforce, workforce,” said Bradley, noting that there is a high demand for maintenance technicians at local industries. “You’ve seen recently the marriage between the school district, John Jay (Center for Learning) and our office attempting to look at those workforce development issues in a very holistic manner finally. I think we’re starting to get pieces of the puzzles put together.”
The county’s rate this month mirrored that of the state, which went up by 0.2 percentage points to 5.3 percent.
Individual area unemployment rates are as follows:
Adams County: 4.6 percent, up 0.3 percentage points, t-18th lowest.
Blackford County: 5.8 percent, up 0.3 percentage points, t-23rd highest.
Delaware County: 6.2 percent, up 0.3 percentage points, t-11th highest.
Jay County: 4.8 percent, up 0.4 percentage points, t-27th lowest.
Randolph County: 5.4 percent, up 0.1 percentage points, t-30th highest.
Wells County: 4.2 percent, up 0.3 percentage points, t-fifth lowest.
PORTLAND WEATHER

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