Rate hovering below 7%

The jobless rate in Jay County spiked in January and was 8.1 percent or higher for the first three months of the year. But the trend since June has been a positive one.
Although the unemployment rate as estimated by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development went up last month, October marked the third straight month in which the rate was below 7 percent.
Jay County’s unemployment rate was 6.9 percent in October after hitting a five-year low of 6.3 percent in September.
“I think things are pretty steady,” said Bill Bradley, executive director of Jay County Development Corporation. “We still rank as one of the lowest in the state.
“We’re not Connersville, we’re not Fayette County and we’re not Delaware County either.”
Fayette County has consistently ranked as one of the worst in the state, and Delaware County ranked 22nd-worst out of 92 Indiana counties in October at 7.7 percent.
Jay County’s trend of improving unemployment numbers mirrors that of the state as a whole.
Indiana’s unemployment rate dropped to 7 percent in September and October, marking the first time it has hit that mark since November of 2008. The state opened the year with a rate of 8.5 percent.
“Indiana’s unemployment rate is more than one percentage point below where it was in January, which is definitely significant,” said Scott B. Sanders, Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development in a press release. “The steady private sector job growth the Hoosier State has been experiencing for some time now is finally beginning to be reflected in the unemployment rate, which many businesses and individuals rely on to make important economic decisions.”
According to the workforce development numbers, the number of unemployed Hoosiers has dropped by more than 27,000 over the last three months. Claims for unemployment insurance are at their lowest levels since 2000.
Michael Hicks, director of Ball State University’s Center for Business and Economic Research, echoed Sanders’ positive thoughts.
“Indiana’s job growth continues to outperform the nation, and today’s numbers reflect far more optimistic conditions in Indiana than the nation as a whole,” he said in a press release. “The continued manufacturing recovery in Indiana is a significant contributor to growth in the state, and the addition of 3,600 more jobs suggests the recovery in manufacturing will continue.
“Importantly, few of these manufacturing jobs are likely to be temporary positions, which is a divergence from the national trend of job gains clustered primarily in sectors which experience significant involuntary part-time workers.”
Jay County weathered the recession that began in late 2008 relatively well compared to the rest of Indiana. And it has consistently been in the top half of the state rankings in terms of unemployment rate.
Bradley attributes that success to the fact that the county is not dependent on a single industry. While there are several automotive parts producers, the county also has major employers in food processing, glass production and a variety of other industries.
“We have really no repetitive companies,” said Bradley. “We’ve got people doing all kinds of things, and that really helps, I think.
“There’s a whole theory in economic development that you have cluster development. … I would rather have diversity any day because I just think it’s safer.”
More positive economic news could be on the horizon for Jay County.
Bradley and other area officials have been working with Fort Recovery Industries on a possible expansion. While details have not been finalized, there is optimism that an announcement could come in early December.
Even with all the positive news though, Bradley said Jay County still faces challenges.
It can be difficult to attract new businesses, given the county’s distance from both I-69 and I-70. And Ohio has some tax benefits that Indiana does not.
“It is hard for us to mitigate the fact that Ohio has no personal property tax,” he said. “That’s a biggie. And there are efforts in Indiana to do the same.”
He also noted that Jay County must continue to work on making sure its residents are prepared to enter the workforce.
Jay County’s unemployment rate of 6.9 percent for October was exactly in the middle of the pack of the state’s 92 counties, but was significantly better than adjacent Blackford, Delaware and Randolph Counties. Wells County continued to have the best rate in the six-county area, ranking 12th-lowest in the state at 5.8 percent.
Fountain County in west central Indiana ranked worst in the state in September at 9.8 percent, followed by Fayette at 9.7. Hamilton, Dubois, Daviess and Bartholomew counties shared the lowest rate at 5.1 percent.
Individual area unemployment rates are as follows:
Adams County: 6.0 percent, down 0.4 percentage points, t-23rd lowest.
Blackford County: 8.2 percent, down 0.3 points, t-11th highest.
Delaware County: 7.7 percent, down 0.1 percentage points, t-22nd highest.
Jay County: 6.9 percent, up 0.6 percentage points, t-46th lowest.
Randolph County: 7.6 percent, up 0.1 percentage points, t-25th highest.
Wells County: 5.8 percent, no change, t-12th lowest.


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