FORT WAYNE – Employment in northeast Indiana is continuing its tug of war with the economy, and the jobless percentage has crept back into double digits.
Preliminary figures from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development show the Fort Wayne metropolitan area with a 10.2 percent unemployment rate in January, compared with 9.3 percent in December.
Even so, that’s better than a year ago when the percentage of people without work in the area was 11.8 percent.
“That’s why I’m always skeptical of month-over-month comparisons,” said John Stafford, director of the Community Research Institute at IPFW. “I suspect (laid-off holiday workers) in retail is part of the reason for the increase. … There are just so many variables.”
But Stafford said he is surprised unemployment didn’t trend downward.
“It went against the business activity and what I’ve been hearing from people,” he said. “I did expect to see lower numbers.”
This week, David Dilts, chairman of the economics department at IPFW, said companies are more confident about hiring and have come to the conclusion that the economy won’t suffer a double-dip recession.
Still, the Fort Wayne metro area, which encompasses Allen, Wells and Whitley counties, had 1,238 fewer workers in January compared to a month earlier. The region had 183,202 people working in January, against 184,400 in December.
Statewide, based on seasonally adjusted data, Indiana was just ahead of the national unemployment rate and Illinois, which each registered 9 percent in January. The Hoosier State fared better than its neighbors: Ohio was at 9.4 percent; Michigan, 10.7 percent; and Kentucky, 10.4 percent.
Indiana’s unemployment rate of 9.1 percent is the lowest since January 2009. The state added 10,600 private-sector jobs in January.
“Indiana’s private sector job growth has outpaced the nation 2-to-1 since the low point of employment in October 2009,” said Mark W. Everson, workforce development commissioner, in a statement.
“2011 is off to a good start with strong employment gains. We’ve seen increases in almost all areas of employment.”
