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June 19, 2009
INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana's unemployment rate rose to 10.6 percent in May and Howard County jumped to 19.3 percent after auto industry furloughs pushed the Kokomo area past northern Indiana as the most-jobless region of the state.
Fifty-nine of Indiana's 92 counties recorded preliminary unemployment figures of 10 percent or higher as the statewide rate doubled from 5.3 percent in May 2008 and moved higher again after having edged downward last month, the Indiana Department of Workforce Development said Friday.
The national jobless rate in May was 9.4 percent.
Indiana's auto industry job losses in May were expected and could soon spread to related industries, said Teresa Voors, the state workforce development commissioner
"Indiana may see the ripple effect over the next few months as suppliers, dealerships and other service providers adjust to the new business models of the domestic auto companies," Voors said in a statement.
Less than half as many manufacturing workers in Howard County and adjacent Tipton County had jobs in May when compared to the same month a year earlier, state data showed.
Much of that loss came from furloughs at four Chrysler plants with about 5,000 workers that have been shut down as part of the automaker's bankruptcy proceedings, but Kokomo Mayor Greg Goodnight sounded optimistic.
"We have gotten word here locally they are starting to call people back," Goodnight told The Associated Press.
Tipton County's jobless rate of 16.2 percent was sixth highest in the state, right behind the 16.6 percent rate posted by Miami County, just north of Kokomo.
Among Indiana cities of at least 25,000 people, preliminary data showed Kokomo had the highest unemployment rate in May at 19.5 percent - nearly one in every five workers - followed by Elkhart at 19.2 percent.
Goodnight, a lifelong Kokomo resident and mayor for the past 18 months, said there's always been talk of broadening the manufacturing center's economy. The current downturn has motivated local leaders to find other industries that can employ the area's idled engineers, technicians and other workers.
"It's kind of been a positive to show people why we need to diversify," Goodnight said. "We're probably as aggressive as anyone out there."
Northern counties home to Indiana's devastated RV manufacturing industry continued to limp along in May with high-double-digit unemployment. Elkhart County's 17.5 percent rate was second highest in the state, followed by Noble County at 17.3 percent and LaGrange County at 16.6 percent. LaGrange's rate fell a full percentage point from a revised 17.6 percent rate in April.
Southern Indiana's Daviess County had the state's lowest unemployment in May at 5.5 percent, followed by Monroe County (Bloomington) at 6.4 percent.
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