By Boris Ladwig, The Republic
bladwig@therepublic.com
The local job market deteriorated toward the end of 2009, and Bartholomew County's unemployment rate rose from 8.2 percent in November to 8.5 percent in December.
Fewer people held jobs in December than in November, and more people were looking for jobs, according to Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
Most south central Indiana counties fared worse than B a r t h o l o m ew County, reporting bigger spikes in their unemployment rates: Brown, Jackson and Jennings counties recorded rates at least 1 percentage point higher than the previous month.
Only Jackson County's rate, 9.4 percent, posted a smaller increase, 0.1 percentage points.
Rates in Johnson and Shelby Counties rose 0.4 percentage points and 0.9 percentage points.
All counties, except Brown, reported a declining labor force, generally a sign of economic weakness, as it indicates that more people are leaving an area than are coming in.
The number of jobs declined in all counties, and the number of people who were looking for jobs increased in all counties.
In the seven-county area, 17,074 people were looking for jobs in December, up from 16,119 in November.
Indiana's unemployment rate crept upward to 9.9 percent in December from 9.6 percent in November.