Indiana's unemployment rate increases marginally

Jul 21, 2010 — The Evening News and The Tribune

Daniel Suddeath

Jul. 21, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- > SOUTHERN INDIANA -- While statistically it may seem insignificant, Indiana's unemployment rate did rise slightly in June according to a study released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Tuesday.

The jobless mark climbed .1 percent last month to 10.1 percent. That's down from June of 2009, when the unemployment rate was 10.6 percent in Indiana.

But the number of jobs that existed in Indiana climbed by 38,200 slots from the previous June.

"Despite the little change in the unemployment rate, Indiana saw one of the largest year-over-year gains in employment," said Uric Dufrene, Sanders chair of the Indiana University Southeast school of business.

"Only North Carolina and Texas recorded larger year-over-year gains in jobs."

Dufrene predicted at the end of the 2009 that Indiana would see positive year-to-year changes in jobs during the second half of 2010.

But from May to June, Indiana lost about 4,700 jobs including nearly 4,000 in the professional and business services sector.

"This suggests an overall slowing in business conditions," Dufrene said. "We may also be seeing a slow down in temporary hiring."

The trade, transportation and utilities sector added about 5,000 jobs from May to June, and manufacturing increased hiring by 2,000 positions.

Government lost about 3,000 jobs during that span.

"Tighter budgets at state and local levels have led to government layoffs throughout Indiana," Dufrene said.

Private sector losses from May to June accounted for the shedding of nearly 1,100 jobs.

Most of the states surrounding Indiana saw a decrease in unemployment, including Kentucky which dropped from 10.4 percent in May to 10 percent in June.

"Indiana's economy added thousands of jobs in retail, manufacturing and finance, but those gains did not overcome a drop in hiring by temporary staffing companies," said Mark W. Everson, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.

"We hope this begins a trend of temporary jobs turning to permanent positions in mainstay Hoosier industries such as transportation and manufacturing."

But that, Dufrene said, will depend on spending.

"The initial surge in manufacturing was led by inventory restocking," he said. "It will now be up to consumer demand to sustain the growth in manufacturing. Some of the latest indicators out indicate that the consumer is still in a very cautionary mood."

Newstex ID: KRTB-0418-47153789