By TJ HEMLINGER, Columbia City Post & Mail Staff Writer
Whitley County's unemployment rate reached 13.2 percent in May, meaning that more than one out of every eight men and women in the county is out of a job.
The county's unemployment rate was the 23rd highest in the state. Indiana overall has an unemployment rate of 10.4 percent.
The national average is 9.1 percent.
Whitley County's unemployment rate was unchanged from April.
The Indiana Department of Workforce Development released statistics that show Whitley County has a labor force of 18,400 (up from 18,067 in April) and that 2,430 men and women are out of work. The figures for April were 2,104 looking for work for a rate of 11.6 percent.
In May 2008, the benchmark month for the Department of Workforce Development, the unemployment rate for Whitley County was just 5.1 percent.
The jump is attributed to the decline in sales in the automobile industry, with Autoliv leaving Whitley County for Odgen, Utah, taking approximately 300 jobs with it.
"We have a couple of plants that supply (the Fort Wayne GM plant)," Alan Tio, president of the Whitley County Economic Development Corp., said. "Some in the area may have shut down or had their hours reduced."
He said there was optimism in the fact that companies that are in the medical supply industry or the orthopedic business are growing.
"Companies that can diversify into the aerospace industry can do well," Tio added.
Tio said there were some signs of optimism. "In the last year we've seen USSI add a number of jobs.
"It's just going to take some time."
Part of that effort comes from WorkOne Northeast out of Fort Wayne, which retrains people and also helps them find new opportunities. Its services are outlined at www.indianacareerconnect.com.