A survey released Wednesday shows unemployment in the Louisville Metro Statistical Area is nearly the same as a year ago.
The August jobless rate was 10 percent in August according to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics study. That’s up from 9.8 percent in July and just less than the 10.1 percent mark in August of 2009.
The “report is just another indication of the slowness of the recovery,” said Uric Dufrene, Sanders chair of the Indiana University Southeast school of business.
“We basically have not seen any significant improvement since the depths of last year’s recession. There has been some stability in local labor markets, but not a whole lot of improvement.”
The study and rise in the jobless rate is consistent with a trend of a slowing economy over the summer, Dufrene continued.
The Louisville Metro Statistical Area includes Floyd, Clark, Harrison and Washington counties. The report showed about 1,200 additional workers lost their jobs from July to August.
The unemployment situation will continue to weigh on housing, Dufrene said. The Louisville Metro Statistical Area has experienced seven consecutive quarterly declines in the Federal Housing Finance Agency Home Price Index.
“This has never occurred in the history of the home price index, and Louisville Metro only saw two previous declines that occurred in the early 1980s,” Dufrene said.
“Declines in home values will continue to dampen consumer confidence, and place strong headwinds against a strong recovery.”
An August jobs report released last week by the state showed Floyd County had a 9.6 percent unemployment rate, and Clark County recorded a 10.3 percent mark.
Both counties endured a sizable increase from July, when Floyd’s jobless rate was 8.6 percent and Clark’s was 9.1 percent. Also, each county’s unemployment rate was higher this August than the same time in 2009.
The four Southern Indiana counties included in the Louisville Metro Statistical Area reported increases in their unemployment rates last month.
© 2025 Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.