Norm
Heikens, The IBJ
nheikens@ibj.com
The strike at Detroit-based
American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings was a drag on Indiana employment
in April, according to the Indiana Department of Workforce
Development.
Overall employment of 2.98 million was down 3,100 from March
but up slightly from a year earlier, the agency reported late last
week.
The agency estimates that the 12-week-old strike wiped 6,000
positions from the numbers.
Striking American Axle workers forced General
Motors Corp. to halt production at plants in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Marion
and at Bedford. An AM General plant in Mishawaka that makes the Hummer H2 also
was crippled.
The strike might be over soon. American Axle and the United
Auto Workers union over the weekend arrived at a tentative agreement that cuts
wages by about one-third but preserves many jobs.
More than the strike
hurt manufacturing numbers in April, though.
A soft economy particularly
hurt northern Indiana makers of recreational vehicles and truck parts, agency
spokesman John Ruckelshaus said.
Employment in the Indianapolis area rose
1 percent from March and 0.9 percent from a year earlier. The metro area had
921,300 people on the job in April.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment
rate fell to 4.7 percent from 5.1 percent in March, as construction workers
returned to jobs on roads and commercial projects. Their work had been delayed
by a wet spring.
The April figures are preliminary and subject to
revision.
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