BY KEITH BENMAN, Times of Northwest Indiana
kbenman@nwitimes.com
Indiana's unemployment rate surged to 5.1 percent in March, as 16,200 more Hoosiers found themselves out of work, according to preliminary figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
It is the highest seasonally adjusted unemployment rate recorded in Indiana since July 2006. The February rate was 4.6 percent.
High-profile layoffs and those at smaller companies around the state swelled the ranks of the unemployed in Indiana to a total of 164,600, according to the preliminary figures.
The unemployment rate for Northwest Indiana stood at 5.8 percent in February, the most recent month reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Democratic gubernatorial primary campaign of Jill Long Thompson used Friday's jump in statewide unemployment to rip the economic policies of Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels.
"Unfortunately, under Governor Mitch Daniels' leadership, the economy of Indiana continues to sputter and decline," said campaign spokesman Jeff Harris. "And unfortunately for working Hoosiers, it's going to get worse."
The campaign of Thompson's rival for the Democratic nomination, Jim Schellinger, said the spike in unemployment shows the gap between reality and Daniel's rhetoric.
"If you talk to the average Hoosier, you know our economy is not doing very well right now," said Jennifer Wagner, a Schellinger campaign spokeswoman. "We have to stop pretending our economy is fine just because Mitch Daniels tells us its fine."
Daniels spokeswoman Jane Jankowski disagreed.
"This again reinforces how we have to keep diversifying our economy," she said, pointing out Indiana has 43,200 more jobs than it did in January 2005.
Commissioner of Workforce Development Teresa Voors said the effect of a strike at American Axle & Manufacturing facilities in Michigan and New York is being felt in Indiana. She also pointed out unemployment is up in 36 other states.
Throughout the year, Daniels has been able to boast that Indiana's low unemployment rate showed his economic policies were working. He still is able to enjoy the fact Indiana's rate is lower than that in neighboring states.
The March unemployment rate for Illinois was 5.5 percent, for Michigan 7.2 percent, for Ohio 5.7 percent, and for Kentucky 5.7 percent.
For the past year, Indiana also has defied the national trend with a stable unemployment rate of between 4.4 percent and 4.6 percent. That rate beat the national unemployment rate month after month. The national rate has risen steadily during that time to its current 5.1 percent.
High-profile layoffs announced in recent months around the state include 628 workers at Union Tank Car Co., East Chicago; 660 workers at Pfizer Global Manufacturing, Terre Haute; 152 workers at Clark National Inc., South Bend; and 585 at ATA Airlines in Indianapolis.
Some of the high-profile layoffs announced, such as those at Union Tank Car, are yet to take place.